1 Killed, 1 Injured In St. Paul Motorhome Fire

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — One person is dead after a motorhome caught fire in St. Paul Saturday night. It happened near the intersection of Arundel Street and Cook Avenue.

Many neighbors were asleep that night when they woke up to screams.

It was around 10:30 p.m. when a neighbor came outside. In place of where the broken glass and ash now sits, there was an RV up in flames.

"There was a man crying on the curb -- crying hysterically -- and he was the one who managed to get out, saying that there was another person inside," one witness said. "There was another neighbor who was trying to break in to try and help the person, but the flames were too hot."

Another neighbor told WCCO they thought the man had been on fire and saw him rolling on the ground. Several neighbors called 911.

St. Paul firefighters put the fire out and found one victim, deceased, inside the motorhome. The person who was able to escape was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

The neighbors WCCO talked to didn't know the victims, but had seen the van parked in different areas in the neighborhood before. The victims' identities have not been released.

"[It was] pretty shocking, considering that nobody really would have expected something like that to happen," another neighbor said.

This marked the third fatal fire in St. Paul this year. No other injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The St. Paul Fire Department says details suggest it may have been mechanical failure and an accident.