1 family member dies following St. Paul house fire

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KARE11) - Fire officials say one of seven members of a St. Paul family rescued from a burning home early Wednesday has died in the hospital.

St. Paul Deputy Chief Roy Mokosso said in a released statement Thursday that the department was notified one of those rescued from the residence on the 1200 block of Arkwright Street passed away from their injuries, marking the city’s first fire fatality of 2024.

A GoFundMe started by Pacheng Vang confirms that his eldest daughter passed away. He is the family’s sole breadwinner and says in the post that he is seeking financial help to hold a proper funeral for the girl.

Crews were sent to a home on the 1200 block of Arkwright St. N just after 1:31 a.m. Wednesday, arriving three minutes and 17 seconds after being dispatched. Firefighters entered the burning structure and located seven victims on the main level. Deputy Chief Mokosso said the victims were unconscious when they were pulled from the home, and paramedics immediately performed CPR on all of them before they were rushed to the hospital.

The homeowner told KARE 11′s Cece Gaines he was at work when the fire started and confirmed that his wife and six children were inside.

Mokosso said some of the family members are in critical condition.

During a press conference later Wednesday morning, St. Paul Fire Chief Butch Inks was clearly emotional as he detailed the quick response to the fire and the work his firefighters did to save the family. “(They’re) the reason these individuals have a chance right now,” Inks told reporters.

The chief then detailed how one firefighter was personally responsible for saving three of the six children.

“You show up on scene in a house where visibility is nil, you can’t see anything. This individual went in, quickly found one child, pulled the child out, went back in, found another child, pulled that child out, and then went back in a third time and found another child. And pulled that child out and began doing medical CPR on that child,” the chief recounted.

Inks said he had spoken with those involved in the rescue and will make sure they receive mental health support over the days and weeks ahead.

“A very traumatic event for our folks,” he explained. “We do this for a living, right, it’s our job... still, we’re human beings and it’s very difficult to do a lot of times, to maintain composure and to maintain the reason we’re there.”

Fire crews were on the scene for about two and a half hours extinguishing the fire and mopping up. Arkwright Street North was blocked off for most of Wednesday morning, but things began opening up shortly after 6 a.m. Crews left the area after boarding up the home.

In total, eight trucks and 63 firefighters responded to the scene. Mokosso says no injuries were reported. While investigators are looking into an official cause for the fire, officials do not believe it is suspicious.