Wells Farm barn heavily damaged by fire, second blaze in six months
This story has been updated with additional information.
A blaze ripped through a barn at Wells Farm on Monday — the second at the historic property since a devastating fire last fall.
The fire, reported at approximately 1:11 p.m., was located toward the rear of the Sound Avenue farm in Northville. Responders arrived to find the barn engulfed in flames, according to Riverhead police.
The blaze was brought under control in about two hours by crews from Riverhead, Jamesport and Mattituck fire departments, with assistance from Manorville, Southold, Westhampton and Flanders fire departments; the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; NYS DEC Police and the Riverhead Town Fire Marshal.
The structure that was damaged was a storage barn housing baby chicks and about 100 adult chickens, the Riverhead Fire Marshal’s office said. They were all rescued by the fire department and have all since been relocated by the farm owner.
The fire marshal’s office is investigating second blaze at the property in less than six months.
“It appears a little hinky, but the fires are most definitely not connected, and there’s nothing suspicious or criminal to it,” assistant chief fire marshal for Riverhead Town Liam Keating told the Riverhead News-Review on Wednesday. “It just appears to be an accidental fire, and it happens to be the same property owner unfortunately.”
Sound Avenue was closed between Phillips Lane and Church Lane during the response.
Anyone who witnessed the fire start or who has information pertaining to the fire is asked to call the Riverhead Police Department at 631-727-4500. Calls will be kept confidential.
Wells Farm, one of the oldest on the East End, was struck by a major barn fire last November that hospitalized three people and killed several pigs and chickens.
Farm owner Laura Wells’ two granddaughters were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center, according to previous reports. A Riverhead police officer also needed medical treatment.
That fire took more than two hours to bring under control, with crews remaining on scene for several more hours to extinguish hot spots, Chief Pete Kurzyna said at the time.
The Wells family has operated the 300-acre farm since 1661, making it Riverhead’s oldest farming family. In 2021, Suffolk County purchased 11.6 acres of the farm for $613,800 as part of its farmland preservation program.
Wells Farm, which has grown to about 300 acres over the centuries, is the only property to keep its original name from its inception, according to a 1937 article in the County Review, an earlier version of this publication.
Eric Wells Sr. is a 12th-generation farmer and operates one portion with his parents, Todd and Laura Wells, and his wife, Darlyn. They sell livestock to the public, and sell grain and potatoes wholesale.
The other portion is run by Matt Wells, one of the sons of the late Lyle Wells, who died in an equipment accident in January 2018. His Wells Homestead Acres at 4549 Sound Ave. is Long Island’s largest asparagus producer and also grows squash, zucchini and cut flowers.
