The Dunn County Medical Examiner says all three UW-Stout students who were killed in an April house fire were legally drunk and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Medical Examiner Chris Kruse says 20-year-old Amanda Rief of Chaska, Minnesota, 21-year-old April Englund of West St. Paul, Minnesota, and 23-year-old Scott Hams of Hayward, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from prolonged exposure to fire gases.

Kruse says Rief's blood alcohol level at the time of death was .305. Englund's level was .210 and Hams was .173.

Kruse says "we can only speculate if this fact contributed to the fire of the victim's inability to self-rescue." The legal limit to be considered legally drunk is .08.

Kruse says the investigation is now closed and the manner of death is ruled accidental.

Today, UW-Stout's Chancellor Charles Sorenson responded to the news:

Following the release of a Dunn County Medical Examiner’s report on the deaths of three University of Wisconsin-Stout students, Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen released the following statement to his faculty and staff:

“The Dunn County Medical Examiner’s Office today released the toxicology tests performed after the tragic deaths of April Englund, Amanda Rief and Scott Hams in an off-campus apartment fire April 5.

The report shows that all of the victims were intoxicated at the time of the fire, which may have contributed to their deaths. This does not make their deaths any less tragic; this does mean that as a campus, we need to review our efforts to ensure we do whatever possible to curb alcohol abuse among members of the UW-Stout community because this is a serious issue of public health and safety.

It is important to keep in mind that, this tragedy notwithstanding, we have a highly regarded comprehensive approach to combating alcohol abuse on campus, which has contributed to a slow but continuous improvement in efforts to reduce high-risk drinking. It is also important to keep in mind that our efforts need to be seen through the prism of Wisconsin’s history and culture of drinking.

Through the University Counseling Center, the UW-Stout Alcohol and Other Drug Education Program provides a variety of services related to alcohol and other drug prevention, intervention, assessment and counseling. Our counselors who work in this program coordinate their efforts with community groups, including the Dunn County Partnership for Youth and the Arbor Place treatment facility.

For example, every UW-Stout student who receives a citation for underage drinking in Dunn County is encouraged through the legal system to participate in the Dunn County Alcohol Awareness Program. The program includes an alcohol and other drug assessment, as well as an education program on the effects of substance abuse. Repeat underage drinking offenders are referred to classes that cover the effects of alcohol on the body, measuring blood alcohol concentrations, setting personal drinking limits and coping with high risk situations.

While too many of our students still drink at high-risk levels, data shows that high-risk drinking is not the norm at UW-Stout. Data collected over the last decade has shown that our students’ drinking levels have decreased significantly, and 80 percent of UW-Stout students either do not drink or drink in moderation.

While we are not blind to the need for continued work in this area, we understand we live in a state that, unfortunately, has a culture of drinking. Research has shown that Wisconsin leads the nation in per-capita consumption of alcohol and has the lowest abstention rate.

The Chancellor’s Coalition on Alcohol and Other Drugs is working on a marketing campaign to spread the word even more effectively that the personal choice to be smart and healthy does not include high-risk drinking. I hope this “smart and healthy” message will convince other students to moderate their drinking or, better yet, abstain entirely. I will be asking the coalition to schedule a meeting soon to discuss these toxicology reports and report to me on what further efforts the coalition believes should be taken to combat alcohol abuse on campus.

No matter what we do as an institution, no matter how good our programming is, students are responsible for their individual choices and have to take responsibility for their actions. We need to continue to spread the message that any student who drinks to excess puts himself or herself in danger, that if you drink too much, you can’t keep yourself or your friends safe.”

ORIGINAL STORIES:

CLICK HERE for a photo of the fire, taken by Amrit Kunwar, who lives in the back apartment unit at the house.

MENOMONIE, Wis. AP) -- The Menomonie police chief says investigators believe the fire which killed three University of Wisconsin-Stout students at an off-campus duplex Saturday was accidental.

Chief Dennis Beety said they believed, in his words, "it was nothing but a horrific and tragic accident." But he declined to discuss further details.

Battalion Fire Chief Denny Klass declined to comment on what may have ignited the blaze or other details. He says officials are waiting to get a report from the state fire marshal who investigated the matter along with the Menomonie police and fire departments.

Klass says he expects that report to be available soon.

But Beety says toxicology reports being done by the State Crime Lab are not expected to be completed for about a month.

Beety said yesterday that a bottle of alcohol was found with the top off of it. But he said that didn't mean the students were drinking at the house.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Saturday's deadly house fire sent shockwaves across the UW-Stout community.

The University is trying to make the best out of the situation.

Students and staff say they just can't believe this happened at their school.

It wasn't what students at UW-Stout were expecting when they woke up this morning.

A tragic fire killed three of their fellow classmates in the middle of the night.

Stout student Andy Kroening says, "It's never good when college kids are, you know, you're basically just starting your life."

A friend of victim Scott Hams, went to high school and college with him.

He says Hams was just an all-around good guy.

Jeremiah King says, "Just always willing to do anything for anybody. Kind of always provided that laugh factor you know."

And he can’t believe he’s really gone.

Jeremiah King says, "He enjoyed everything basically. He loved life."

Students at Stout have been leaving messages for the three victims all day as part of a memorial wall set up in Price Commons.

A simple reminder of just how precious life is.

Andy Kroening says, "It's just really tragic that young people like that have to pass away. It's never a good thing. Anything like that has to happen, so, just thinking about them and thoughts and prayers are obviously with them and their families."

To help students cope with the tragedy, school leaders have also set up a Grief Support Center at Price Commons.

University counselors will be available tomorrow from noon until five.

On Monday, the Counseling Center will be open from 8 in the morning until 4:30p.m. in the afternoon.

The University has also set-up a Call Center for concerned families.
That number is 800-228-5536.

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A fire at a two-story house at 1415 8th St. East in Menomonie Saturday morning claimed the lives of three University of Wisconsin-Stout students.

The university says Scott A. Hams, 23, of Hayward, April C. Englund, 21, of West St. Paul, and Amanda Jean Rief, 20, of Chaska, Minnesota.

Lieutenant Wendy Stelter from the Menomonie Police Department says preliminary reports show the students died from smoke inhalation and suffered no trauma.

Firefighters got the call at about 3:30 Saturday morning.

"The residence was heavily engulfed with smoke when our first officer arrived. He entered the residence and he had to crawl on his hands and knees,” said Menomonie Police Chief Dennis Beety.

"Moderate smoke was showing from the basement, the first floor and the second floor of a two story duplex,” said Menomonie Fire Chief Jack Baus.

Baus says several people from the rear unit of the duplex escaped and called for help.

He says fire alarms were sounding when firefighters arrived.

That's when he says they used thermal imaging gear to find the three victims, all on the second floor.

"I'm uncertain of what their activity was at the time, but they each had their individual bedrooms and they were found in their own room,” said Beety.

Investigators say only April Englund's name was on the lease to the duplex.

They assume the other two students were guests staying overnight.

Baus says rescuers tried to revive the victims, but they were unsuccessful.

"Resuscitation was attempted from the moment we removed the victims from the home until care was transferred to Red Cedar Medical staff,” said Baus.

He says all three were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire as well as where it started.