5 killed in Riverhead fire are all related, smoking probed as factor

The five people killed as a fire ripped through a Riverhead home this week are all members of the same family, police said — as they revealed that smoking may have been a factor in the blaze. 

The bodies of five relatives — a woman, her son, her daughter and her two nephews — were discovered inside the three-story wood-frame home on East Second Street near East Avenue in Riverhead, where the blaze broke out around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. 

One of the victims is a teenager, though cops did not disclose which one. 

The family members, who lived on the third floor, were not in their beds, but it was unclear what they were doing at the time of the fire, cops said. 

There were multiple apartments in the house — which became “fully involved” in the fire — and several occupants managed to escape, according to the Riverhead Fire Department.  

The homeowner lives on the first floor, the second floor has two apartments with two occupants each, and the deceased family occupied the only apartment on the third floor, police said. 

Investigators believe smoking may be a potential cause of the blaze, but multiple factors are being probed — all accidental in nature, cops said. 

It did not appear that smoke detectors were going off in the home — but police said they could not confirm whether the detectors were present. 

Detectives spoke with town code enforcement who indicated they believed the apartments were legal, but they needed to conduct further research, according to police.