A recent tragedy has put the future of Long Island’s oldest farm in jeopardy.
Around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, the main barn at Wells Farm caught fire and burned down. While the barn next to it also caught fire, the structure of it was maintained.
It took multiple responding fire departments three and a half hours to put out the flames. For the firefighters at the scene, the difficulties of putting out the blaze stemmed from what was inside the barn. It housed animals, equipment and vehicles. Additionally, responders had to deal with a diesel tank that had caught fire and nearby propane tanks that could’ve posed a massive danger to anyone in the proximity.
Laura Wells, whose husband and son run the day-to-day operations at the farm, highlighted the severity of the moment in an interview with News 12.
“This is just devastating," she said. "I honestly don’t know what we’re going to do.”
In the end, three people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, including a police officer and Wells’ two granddaughters. The trio sustained their ailments when attempting to rescue 19 pigs from the barn.
"Thank goodness for the police and the firefighters,” Wells said to News 12. “They helped us get the pigs out of there.”
Fifteen chickens perished in the flames, along with two pigs.
The cause of the fire is unknown, but an official investigation is currently ongoing.
The family-owned farm has been in operation since 1661, and the 300-acre property is Long Island’s largest producer of asparagus. It also grows squash and other vegetables.
Losing animals, equipment and one of its main barns, the disaster has thrown the future of Wells Farm into a state of uncertainty.
