By Ed Comeau
One male, Kyle Kopischke, 23, was killed in an early-morning fire in a student-rented house in St. Cloud, Minnesota. According to St. Cloud Fire Chief Bill Mund, the fire broke out in the kitchen of a 1-1/2 story duplex on Saturday, November 24. Fire fighters reported that there was heavy fire on the first floor with fire starting to come out of a second story window and the roof when they arrived. The occupant who was able to escape told fire fighters that his roommate was still in the building and fire fighters attempted to make entry in the rear of the building but were driven out by the intense heat. Kopischke was later found in the second-story bedroom that was in the front of the house.
According to press reports, Kopischke had recently graduated from the Alexandria Technical & Community College and had been accepted at the St. Cloud Technical & Community College but had not as yet enrolled. He had been renting the house with three St. Cloud State University students since June.
Chief Mund reports that the house was a wood-frame, balloon frame structure that had been converted into a side-by-side duplex, one side of which was unoccupied at the time of the fire. When fire fighters arrived they could hear smoke alarms sounding on the unoccupied side. Fire investigators are attempting to determine if there were smoke alarms in the fire occupancy which had last been inspected in March, when there were working smoke alarms present.
The house, which is three blocks off of campus, was occupied by a total of four people, three of them students at St. Cloud State University. The house is a total loss. The fire started in the kitchen area and is believed to be accidental. The cause of death has not been determined pending an autopsy.
This is the second fatal campus-related fire of the 2012-2013 academic year, with three people having been killed in fires. Since 2000, 158 people have died in campus-related fires across the nation. More information is available on the Current Fire Information page of Campus Firewatch including a map, compilation and Information Sheet.
Common factors seen in a number of campus-related fires include:
- Missing or disabled smoke alarms
- Lack of automatic fire sprinklers
- Careless disposal of smoking materials
- Impaired judgment from alcohol leading to ignition or inability to escape the fire
- Upholstered furniture on porches or decks contributing to the fire
More information on campus fire safety, including a listing of fatal fires since 2000, a map of campus-related fatal fires and an Information Sheet, can be found at www.campus-firewatch.com on the RESOURCE page.