The house on East Avenue where a fire broke out Saturday morning has been demolished by Riverhead Town, following the issuance of an unsafe structure order by Suffolk County.
Riverhead Highway Superintendent George Woodson tore the building down with an excavator this afternoon, as Riverhead firefighters sprayed the falling wooden planks, shingles and plaster debris with water to tamp down dust.
The home at 432 East Avenue was built in 1860, according to public records. It has been vacant for at least 15 years, said neighbor Andrzej Aleksandrowicz.
There was a fire inside the home in 2006, Riverhead Fire Marshal David Andruskiewicz said. It was boarded up after that, he said.
Squatters had been a problem at the house, Aleksandrowicz said.
This morning's fire seems to have been slow-burning, and could have been set by squatters to keep warm overnight, Andruskiewicz said.
Firefighters had to cut through overgrown shrubbery with chain saws in order to gain access to the dwelling.
Riverhead Town in October 2010 issued an order to then-owner of record Charle Mason to cut the grass and weeds on the property. Mason is an elderly man now living in a nursing home, according to neighbors. Title to the property had been transferred to Suffolk County following a tax lien foreclosure, but the property was recently sold by the county, according to Riverhead Councilman James Wooten, who was at the scene during the demolition.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti & Peter Blasl
