House fire near Wisconsin campus kills 3 students

By Amy Forliti - 04/06/2008

MENOMONIE, Wis. — The smoke detectors were so loud that neighbors on the other side of the duplex heard them and called police.

But the alarms apparently had no effect on three University of Wisconsin-Stout students sleeping in the front unit of an off-campus duplex — a unit that had filled with so much heavy smoke that a police officer who entered the building around 3:30 a.m. Saturday couldn’t get to the second floor.

It wasn’t until firefighters used thermal imaging that they found the three victims, in separate bedrooms, fire officials said. They were taken to a hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Police don’t know why the victims didn’t wake up and leave, and it was unclear whether alcohol was a factor.

“There was a bottle of alcohol and the top was off of it,” police Chief Dennis Beety said. “But that’s no indication they were drinking at the time.” The cause of the fire was still being investigated.

The university identified the victims as April C. Englund, 21, of West St. Paul, Minn.; Amanda Jean Rief, 20, of Chaska, Minn.; and Scott A. Hams, 23, of Hayward. All three appeared to have died of smoke inhalation, said police Lt. Wendy Stelter. There were no obvious signs of foul play.

“It’s a tragedy that no campus prepares for,” university Chancellor Charles Sorensen said. “We’ll grieve in this together.” Englund was the only victim who lived in the front unit of the white house, in a row of well-kept properties blocks away from campus. Rief and Hams were sleeping over because Englund’s roommates had left town, Englund’s father and authorities said. All occupants of the back unit were able to escape.

Students and neighbors on Saturday quietly walked over to the police tape that blocked off the street.

“It’s pretty scary,” said Erik Vilstrup, 23, as he smoked a cigarette and gazed at the house, which was missing windows and had a hole in the roof. The smell of smoke and charred wood still lingered.

University counselors were on hand to help students, and the school encouraged students to call their families. Pictures of the students were posted on a wall in a campus building, along with markers and paper where students left notes such as “You will be missed” or “RIP.” Hams had his own Web page with pictures of him water skiing, doing stunts with a motocross dirt bike and flying a small airplane. He said he liked snowboarding, wakeboarding and skateboarding.

“I can’t believe it’s real,” said his father, Allen Hams. “I know there’s a reason. God’s got a plan. He’s such a good kid; he’d do anything for anybody.” Scott Hams was to graduate in May with a degree in business administration with an emphasis on risk control, and he had an internship lined up, his father said.

Hams, who has a 14-year-old brother, lost his mother to cancer three years ago.

“The police came over with the pastor and I said, ‘What’s going on here?’” Hams said. “They told me to sit down, and then we all had a good cry together.” Englund, a senior, was majoring in retail merchandising with a minor in business. Bill Englund said his daughter had worked at a women’s clothing store for five years.

“She loved it. She loved fashion, colors, design,” Englund said. “She studied to do that. She was already promised a job when she graduated next year.” One of the family’s highlights every year was a canoe trip that included her 80-year-old grandmother.

“She looked forward to that every year, being with family, being out in the woods,” Englund said. “She was a city girl otherwise.” Rief was a sophomore majoring in business administration. She worked at the front desk in a dorm, helping students when they wanted cooking utensils or got locked out of their rooms, said her boss, Allison Shuldhiess, also a UW-Stout student.

“She was very friendly and good at her job,” Shuldhiess said. “She was very helpful, and she didn’t complain about work.” The school of 8,400 students is about 70 miles east of Minneapolis.