An unattended candle is suspected to have caused a St. Paul house fire that left 4 children dead, the hearth department said Thursday.
Preliminary investigation found the hearth was accidental, in response to Deputy Fire Chief Roy Mokosso. He said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has assisted with the investigation.
A vigil is scheduled for Saturday to support the family. It’s being held at American Indian Magnet School, where twins who perished were kindergarteners and where their mother works. Ker Lor and two of her children remain hospitalized.
It appears the family couldn’t get out of their Payne-Phalen home because the hearth was by the front door and escaping out the back would have meant a drop from a second-story level, Mokosso said Thursday.
The vigil from 1-3 p.m. Saturday is open to the general public and can be inside the college at 1075 E. Third St., in response to the Hmong 18 Council.
“Allow us to come together to shine a light-weight for healing and supporting the Vang Family,” the Council wrote.
People have reached out about donations for the 2 surviving children, who “lost their Christmas toys & presents, home, and belongings” in the hearth, the Council wrote, saying that anyone who desires to bring donations can accomplish that on Saturday. A 6-year-old boy, who’s a first-grader at the college, wears size 6-7. A lady, who’s 2 and can turn 3 next month, wears size 3-4.
For individuals who need to send gifts to the kids, the Hmong 18 Council said they will mail them to their office, Attention: Vang Family and kids, 911 E. Maryland Ave., Suite F1, St. Paul, MN 55106.
Lor has worked at American Indian Magnet School for the reason that fall of 2022. She is a special education teaching assistant, in response to the college district. She previously was an intern in St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office.
Lor stays in critical condition, while her two children are doing higher, said Tongai Vang, an uncle of her husband, Pa Cheng Vang, on Thursday.
“American Indian Magnet School and the whole St. Paul Public Schools community are holding Pa Cheng Vang and his family in our hearts,” said Erica Wacker, school district spokesperson. “This unthinkable tragedy is something no family should ever need to experience. We’re wrapping our arms around them and can proceed to support the family nevertheless we are able to in the times and months to come back.”
Vang was at work on Jan. 3 when a fireplace broke out at his home on Arkwright Street near Maryland Avenue about 1:30 a.m. There have been working smoke detectors, Mokosso has said. Firefighters carried out the house’s seven occupants, each unconscious, giving all of them CPR on the scene and getting them to the hospital.
Siv Ntshiab Vang, 5, died later that day. Her twin sister, Ntshiab Siv Vang, and brother, Muaj Tshav Ntuj Vang, 4, died Jan. 5. Muaj Cag Txuj Vang, an 18-month-old boy, passed away Jan. 6.
A fundraiser for the kids’s funerals and in support of the family will be found at gofundme.com/f/siv-ntshiab.
