MONGAUP VALLEY, NY — State Police at Liberty, along with several area fire departments, responded to a report of a structure fire at 1240 Route 17B Mongaup Valley in the Town of Bethel on June 16.

Upon arrival, first responders found a two-story apartment building fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters were able to locate and remove a male subject identified as Richard Burke, age 45, who had been trapped in an upstairs apartment.

Burke was later pronounced deceased at Catskill Regional Medical Center. An autopsy will be completed to determine a cause of death. A second male occupant was treated for minor burns and released. State Police and Sullivan County Bureau of Fire investigators are working together to determine the cause and origin of the fire.

The preliminary investigation indicates that the fire may have been the result of a cooking accident in a downstairs apartment. 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 Mobil Medic EMS.