MONGAUP VALLEY – A fire in an apartment that may have been caused
by a cooking accident claimed the life of a Mongaup Valley man on Thursday.
The fire at 1240 Route 17B was in a two-story apartment building that
was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.
The victim, identified as Richard Burke, 45, was found trapped in an upstairs
apartment. He was later pronounced dead at Catskill Regional Medical Center.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
A second man who lived there was treated for minor burns and released.
State Police and Sullivan County Bureau of Fire investigators are working
together to determine the cause of the fire, but a preliminary investigation
points to a cooking accident in the downstairs apartment, police said.
Along with State Police, responding agencies included fire departments
from Smallwood, White Lake, Kauneonga Lake, Monticello, Lake Huntington,
Swan Lake, Kenoza Lake, Forestburgh, Yulan, Bethel EMS and Mobile Medic
EMS.
