St. Paul fire officials said Wednesday that they were unable to determine the cause of a house fire that took the life of a 4-year-old girl last week.
"Nothing to indicate it's anything but accidental but the exact cause cannot be determined," the fire department announced on Twitter about the fire on Feb. 8 in the city's Payne-Phalen neighborhood.
Firefighters were called that night to a home in the 500 block of E. Jessamine Avenue, where homeowner Peter Yang had been able to rescue six members of his family out of the house but couldn't find his daughter Ntshialiag (pronounced Chialia).
She was found by firefighters, but later pronounced dead at a hospital. Funeral services for her will be held Thursday.
City Council Member Dan Bostrom will be at the services to recognize Peter Yang's actions. St. Paul fire officials and members of the African American Leadership Council also will attend, a family member said.
Ntshialiag was St. Paul's first fire fatality of the year.
NICOLE NORFLEET
