Riverhead Home Depot closes after trailer fire spreads behind store

There was a fire sale at Home Depot on Tuesday — just not the kind anyone wanted.

A trailer fire behind the big-box store on Old Country Road spread to a second trailer Tuesday afternoon, sending shoppers scurrying for the exits as the business temporarily closed, Riverhead police said.

Riverhead firefighters were called to the store at 12:56 p.m. and arrived to find a trailer parked behind the building fully engulfed in flames, according to police.

Video shot by Paul Denis of Eastport, who was stuck in traffic along the busy shopping corridor as firefighters battled the blaze, showed thick gray smoke billowing above the rear of the store and drifting over the fenced-in area behind the building.

Riverhead firefighters, with assistance from several neighboring departments, brought the blaze under control in about 30 minutes, officials said.

There were no reported injuries.

Jamesport, Flanders, Wading River, Ridge, Westhampton and Hampton Bays fire departments assisted at the scene. Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps also responded in a standby capacity.

Home Depot, located off Mill Road in a lot that includes Petco and IHOP, was closed Tuesday afternoon pending cleanup and removal of the trailers.

The cause of the fire is believed to be non-criminal, police said. It is under investigation by the Riverhead Fire Marshal’s Office.

Riverhead police ask anyone with information about suspicious or criminal activity to call the department’s Crime Hotline at 631-727-3333. All calls will be kept confidential.