UW-Stout campus mourns loss of three students in house fire (April 7, 2008)

Authorities say it could be weeks before they know the cause of the fire that killed three University of Wisconsin-Stout students early Saturday and left a campus in shock and veteran emergency responders shaken.

On Sunday, Menomonie, Wis., Police Chief Dennis Beety said no foul play is suspected.

"The source is undetermined, but we believe it's accidental," Beety said. "It's just a horrible tragedy."

April Englund, 21, of West St. Paul; Amanda (Mandy) Rief, 20, of Chaska, and Scott Hams, 23, of Hayward, Wis., were killed in the 3:30 a.m. fire at the off-campus house where Englund lived and which police and firefighters described as well-kept. It is still unknown why the victims may not have responded to the smoke alarms that neighbors heard blaring before calling 911, Beety said.

"There were smoke detectors on the house, and some of them were operational," said Battalion Chief Denny Klass of the Menomonie Fire Department.

He said that the state fire marshal finished investigating the scene late Saturday and will notify local authorities when the report is finished.

Beety said a single open bottle of alcohol was found inside the house. Toxicology reports aren't expected to be completed for four to six weeks, he said.

"There was an alcoholic beverage with the top off it, but we can't determine if they were drinking out of it prior to the incident," he said. "The residence was very clean. There wasn't any litter in the house. The trash wasn't full of beer cans or anything like that."

Rief and Hams, whose bodies were found in separate second-floor bedrooms, were staying at the house because Englund's roommates were out of town, Englund's father said Saturday.

A day of rain and tears

One day after word spread across the campus of 8,400 students 70 miles east of Minneapolis, a state of shock, along with a cold drizzle, fell on the campus as handfuls of students drifted in to leave tributes at the school's Price Commons or to speak with grief counselors.

Letters and flowers adorned large posters with photographs of the lost students -- some tributes offered thoughts of condolence and prayer, while others contained personal messages.

"We'll miss all the inside jokes and the Wednesday nights we hung out together," said one message signed by "The Righteous Club" below Englund's photo. Another sealed envelope simply read: "My love be with you."

More than 40 people had already joined a tribute group to Hams set up on the social networking website Facebook.com.

"I love you and will miss you," Coltin Helander wrote.

Beety said Saturday's blaze marked the first in his 40 years with the department in which a Stout student died in a house fire.

Even for seasoned investigators such as him and Klass, it's "a pretty sad deal," he said.

Memorial being planned

Although several impromptu vigils to honor the three students are likely this week, university officials are working closely with the victims' families to plan a formal on-campus memorial service, said Stout communications director Doug Mell.

Visitation for Englund will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Johnson Peterson Funeral Home in West St. Paul. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church in downtown St. Paul.

Visitation for Hams will take place Tuesday evening at Anderson Nathan Koerpel Funeral Home in Hayward. Services will be Friday at Hayward Wesleyan Church. Exact times haven't been announced.

A Tuesday visitation and Wednesday funeral are planned for Rief.

Abby Simons • 612-673-4921