1 Dead, 1 Hurt After Fire At St. Paul Homeless Encampment

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- One person was found dead and another injured after a fire broke out Wednesday morning at a St. Paul homeless encampment.

The St. Paul Fire Department says crews were called to the fire around 6:30 a.m. at the encampment on the north side of Shepard Road, just south of Lowertown in a park along the Mississippi River. Responding firefighters found flames coming from a shelter and quickly knocked them down.

One victim was found dead in the wreckage. Later, paramedics found another victim with burn injuries in another tent. The surviving victim was brought to a hospital for treatment.

In the area of the fire, several propane tanks and heaters were found, fire officials say, adding that the Minnesota State Fire Marshals Division has been tapped to investigate the fire.

St. Paul police say homicide investigators responded to the scene. So far, no arrests have been made.

The deceased victim's cause of death remains unknown, although fire officials say an autopsy will be conducted in the next day or so.

This is the latest of a number of fires to have broken out this winter at homeless encampments in the Twin Cities. The last one to occur in St. Paul happened at the Kellogg Park encampment. No one was injured.