Fourth child dies from injuries suffered in St. Paul house fire

A fourth child has died from injuries suffered in an early morning house fire last week in St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood.

St. Paul police said the 18-month-old boy died late Saturday. He was one of six children who, along with their mother, was pulled from their burning home last week Wednesday on the 1200 block of Arkwright Street North.

All seven victims were hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation. Authorities and the family said last week that three of the children — 5-year-old twin girls and a 4-year-old boy — had died from their injuries.

The three other people rescued remain hospitalized. Pa Cheng Vang, the husband and father of the victims, said Saturday that his wife, Ker Lor, and the two other children, ages 3 and 6, were showing promising signs of recovery.

An online fundraiser for the family, to help with funeral expenses, had raised more than $430,000 as of early afternoon Tuesday. At a news conference last weekend, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter — who is a friend of the family — called the fire a “tragedy for our entire community.”

St. Paul firefighters said the home had working smoke detectors, but the proximity of the fire may have impeded the family’s escape. Vang was at work at the time of the fire.

Investigators said the fire appears to have been accidental in nature, but they’re still trying to figure out how it started.

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