3 dead following Bethel house fire

A Bethel Fire Department conveyance extracurricular 1019 Ridgecrest Dr. connected June 14, 2024. (Evan Erickson/KYUK)

Three group person died aft a house fire in Bethel past Friday.

Bethel’s Acting Police Chief Christopher Wigner said Doreen Black of Bethel, Gregory Alfred of Kwethluk and Nastasia Nick of Nunapitchuk died complete nan play aft being medevaced retired of nan organization for treatment.

“They were life-flighted retired to Anchorage, and past they had 2 of nan victims transported retired to Seattle,” Wigner said Monday afternoon. “At this time, we person received accusation that each 3 person passed away.”

Wigner said Bethel’s Fire Department and constabulary initially responded to a study of a location occurrence astatine 1019 Ridgecrest Dr. astatine astir 2:15 p.m. connected Friday.

When they arrived 5 minutes later, Wigner said, first responders saw fume coming from nan home. According to nan incident report, firefighters went wrong and recovered Black, Alfred and Nick unconscious and severely burned. An ambulance and a Bethel constabulary conveyance took nan 3 to nan Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation infirmary wherever they were listed successful captious condition.

It’s not clear who owns nan building that caught fire.

Wigner said section first responders spent nan play trying to fig retired what caused nan fire. He said nan authorities occurrence marshal’s agency traveled to Bethel connected Saturday to help.

“It appears that nan occurrence was started accidentally, perchance by a cigaret [that] started a occurrence connected nan sofa and dispersed to portion of nan residence,” Wigner said.

Department of Public Safety spokesperson Tim DeSpain wrote successful an email that occurrence investigators recovered an further occurrence started nether a trash container successful nan arctic introduction of nan house, wherever they besides recovered cigaret butts.

As of Tuesday morning, nan authorities investigation into nan occurrence was ongoing, though DeSpain wrote that nan occurrence was “not suspicious.”