Wisconsin House Fire Kills 3 College Students

Rescuers found two women and a man in second-floor bedrooms near the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and they were pronounced dead at a hospital, authorities said.

The smoke detectors were working, and neighbors called police when they heard the alarms, said Menomonie Police Chief Dennis Beety. Police don't know why the three victims didn't wake up and leave.

"There was a bottle of alcohol and the top was off of it," Beety said. "But that's no indication they were drinking at the time."

The university identified the victims as April C. Englund, 21, of West St. Paul, Minn.; Amanda Jean Rief, 20, of Chaska, Minn.; and Scott A. Hams, 23, of Hayward. All three appeared to have died of smoke inhalation, said authorities, who do not suspect foul play.

"It's a tragedy that no campus prepares for," Chancellor Charles Sorensen said. "We'll grieve in this together."