UPDATE: Victims of Fallon fire identified

The Churchill County Sheriff’s Office released the names of two people who died in an Oct. 26 house fire west of Fallon.

The CCSO said the victims are Stephen Charles Cheek and Kelly Allen both of Fallon. Sheriff Richard Hickox said in a press release an autopsy was conducted on both individuals, but the CCSO is still waiting for the results.

According to Hickox, during the early morning hours of Oct. 27, the remains of a woman who was later identified as Allen were removed from the burned structure.

“Due to the damage sustained to the structure from the fire as well as several other factors, it was determined that the safest course of action would be to wait until daylight to dismantle the area and extract the remains,” he said.

The CCSO said it received a call from a woman, who was later identified  Allen at about 10:05 p.m. on Oct. 26. The woman, who was later identified as Allen, requested assistance because someone had been shot. Hickox said responded to a house on Sierra Way near Roberson Lane and found a man standing outside suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen and burns to the body. Paramedics transported him to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno and then on to the University of California Davis medical center in Sacramento

Hickox said while deputies were talking to the gunshot victim, flames became visible in a nearby structure. After forcing a door open, deputies found a man lying on the floor inside the door and dragged him outside.

“Due to small explosions in the building and a rapidly evolving fire with high heat and smoke, the deputies were unable to re-enter the structure to search for other occupants,” Hickox said. “Life-saving measures were initiated on the male subject pulled from the building but were unsuccessful.”

Hickox said the man died at the scene.

The Fallon Churchill Volunteer Fire Department extinguished the fire and requested the state fire marshall be involved with the investigation. Hickox said a joint investigation involved the fire marshals from the state and fire department and members of the CCSO .