Cheever fire claims two

An early morning fire Dec. 27 claimed the lives of two local residents in the small Moriah hamlet of Cheever. Stephen A. Welch, 50, and Barry Raymond, Jr., 28, were killed in the blaze, which happened at Welch's mobile home on 4818 Route 9N with a call coming into Essex County 911 at 5:25 a.m. Investigators from the Essex County Fire Investigation Unit, New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, New York State Police Uniformed Troopers and the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control-Fire Investigation Bureau later found the cause of the fire being the direct result of a chimney fire and failure of the exhaust piping of the wood burning unit, which resulted in the combustion of the home itself. Stephen's son, Brendan Welch, 25, had taken a friend to Ticonderoga and returned to the home, which was on fire. The younger Welch found Raymond in the home, collapsed due to apparent smoke inhalation. Welch pulled Raymond out of the home then re-entered in search of his father, who he was unable to locate before being overcome by smoke and forced to exit the residence. Welch performed CPR on Raymond until first responders from the Port Henry Volunteer Fire Department arrived on scene. Raymond was transported by the Westport Emergency Squad to Elizabethtown Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The elder Welch was later recovered in a rear bedroom of the home and pronounced dead at the scene by Essex County coroner Kelly Valentine. Brendan Welch was uninjured, but taken to the hospital for precautionary measures. An autopsy was performed on Raymond's body by Dr. C. Francis Varga Dec. 27, ruling the cause of death to be carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation. The Essex County Coroner ruled the manner of death to be accidental. Raymond, Jr., was the son of the late Barry Gene Raymond, Sr. and the late Lynn (Crowe) Kerr. He is survived sisters Elizabeth Hilder of Whitehall and Dawn Cole of Ticonderoga; brother Donald Raymond of Glens Falls; and maternal grandmother Shirley Crowe of Ticonderoga, along with one niece, one nephew and several aunts, uncles and cousins. Calling hours and a memorial service have been scheduled for Tuesday in Ticonderoga. Interment will take place at the family plot of the Mt. Hope Cemetery of Ticonderoga at a later date. An autopsy was performed on Welch's body by Dr. C. Francis Varga Dec. 28. The cause of death was determined to be carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation. The Essex County Coroner ruled the manner of death to be accidental. Arrangements for Welch were still pending at the time of publication. Essex County Emergency Services Director Don Jaquish said the house was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived, leading to the closure of the main route between the towns of Westport and Moriah. Vehicles were re-directed through Mineville. Fire fighters and investigators, along with members of the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, were on-scene from approximately 10 minutes after the 911 call until 4:30 p.m., collecting evidence and securing the site. Jaquish said the dwelling did not have any working smoke detectors at the time of the fire. The investigation into the cause of this fire is still ongoing. Moriah Fire, Mineville/Witherbee Fire, Port Henry Fire were all on scene. Moriah EMS and Lamoille EMS were also on scene. Elizabethtown was on stand by in Mineville/Witherbee, and Crown Point was on stand by in Port Henry.

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Cheever fire claims two

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