Inspector: Fatal Wis. Fire Started On 2nd Floor

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) — An Eau Claire fire inspector says the off-campus fire that killed two University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students from Minnesota likely started in one of the apartment's bedrooms.

Fire Inspector Gary Puljas tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press most of the damage was done to the two bedrooms on the south side of the four-bedroom apartment.

In a news release Wednesday, Puljas says the fire apparently started on the second floor but the cause is still unknown.

Jacob Clarkson and Ross Livermore, both 21, died as a result of the Oct. 8 fire. Two other roommates escaped the blaze. The four friends graduated from high school in Stillwater, Minn., in 2009.

Fire inspectors and insurance representatives plan to tour the site in November.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)