Neighbors mourn 5 victims of Riverhead house fire

Alexander Soto says he was celebrating one of the victim's birthdays just before the fire broke out around 10:30 p.m. on East Second Street.

News 12 Staff

Nov 18, 2021, 9:37 PM

Updated 981 days ago

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Members of a Riverhead community are mourning five members of the same family who were killed when a 114-year-old home went up in flames late Tuesday.
Alexander Soto says he was celebrating one of the victim's birthdays just before the fire broke out around 10:30 p.m. on East Second Street.
"I did the cake, then I don't know what happened a couple of minutes later," Soto says.
The community has left flowers, picture and candles on the victims' car and in front of the house.
Brandon Zeidner says he was a good friend of the mother who died in the fire.
"She's an amazing woman, she was a happy woman," Zeidner says. "Loves to dance. She was at my wedding not even a month ago."
Authorities have not released the identities of the victims. Family friends say they were 42-year-old Zonia Rivera, her two children, 16-year-old Andrea and 24-year-old Carlos, and her two nephews, 27-year-old Douglas Rivera and 24-year-old Alberto Ramos.
Zeidner's family and friends set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for a memorial service and to send their bodies home to their family in Guatemala.


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