The fire totally gutted the residence.
March 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m. a fire broke out at a residence in the 600 block of Duryea Street in Raymond.
By the time Raymond Fire Department was on scene the house was fully engulfed in flames. Upon arrival they were informed a male occupant was possibly still inside. They were able to knock down the fire quickly and initiate a rescue to locate the missing occupant. He was located and pronounced deceased at the scene. There were no other fatalities.
A family next door to the fire had to be evacuated due to flames from the burning residence that began to catch their home on fire. The family was not hurt. The family credits neighbors, RFD, and RPD for waking them up and helping them evacuate.
Lionel Carter, a neighbor called 911 after spotting the fire and stated, "the fire engulfed the home very rapidly and we weren't able to make it into the home to try and help find the missing man. It was just way too hot and the smoke was thick."
The victim has been identified as Eugene Stepp who was in his mid 70's. He had been a long time Raymond resident and former marine who served during Vietnam.
"I was sitting outside the house and it just went dark," Dave Peterson a close friend of Stepp stated. "The power just suddenly went out and I didn't notice the fire until I looked through the window and saw it. I tried kicking the door in to get to him, but it was just too hot. I couldn't get in."
Peterson continued, "I reached in to get the door open and ended up burning my hand. It was really hot. The smoke was very hot. I started throwing up. There just wasn't anything I could do."
RFD remained on scene for 2 hours to fully extinguish the fire and perform an overhaul to ensure the fire was completely out. The fire is being investigated by the Pacific County Fire Investigation Team led by Raymond Police and the Pacific County Sheriff's Office. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Two fire engines, an ambulance and rescue vehicle responded from RFD. Menlo Fire also responded with a rescue vehicle. In total 16 firefighters were on scene.