An 83-year-old homeowner was taken to the hospital after a debris fire spread on his Middle Road property Friday afternoon, Riverhead firefighters said.
Riverhead assistant fire chief Kevin Brooks said the man was burning paper outside the house near Deep Hole Road when the fire spread to the nearby grass about 12:51 p.m. Fire Department volunteers brought four engines and a tanker truck to put out the fire, he said.
Mr. Brooks said the homeowner had been “out in the sun all day” and was feeling tired when firefighters met him at the scene. Riverhead ambulance volunteers took the man to Peconic Bay Medical Center as a precaution.
By 1:45 p.m., the fire had been extinguished.
Photo credit: Nicole Smith