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Disasters
Tim Nelson

Fire at homeless encampment in St. Paul leaves one dead

The scene of an encampment fire near the Union Depot.
One person died and another was injured in this fire at an encampment in downtown St. Paul, near the Union Depot. Firefighters found propane tanks and heaters where the fire started, apparently in a tent.
Courtesy of St. Paul Fire Department

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Updated: Jan 21, 1:54 p.m. | Posted: Jan. 20, 3:53 p.m.

A person sheltering in a tent that died after an apparent fire near the Mississippi riverfront in St. Paul, city fire officials said.

Firefighters were called to Shepard Road between Jackson and Sibley Streets just before 7 a.m. Wednesday. Firefighters found a badly injured person in what appeared to be a burned tent on the north side of Shepard Road, and another person injured in another shelter nearby.

One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other treated by paramedics and taken to a nearby hospital.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner on Thursday identified the victim who died as 32-year-old Janiece S. Williams. The cause of William’s death remains under investigation.

Firefighters reported finding multiple propane tanks and space heaters where the fire started. The official cause remains under investigation by city and state fire personnel.

St. Paul Fire Department spokesperson Roy Mokosso said the city has responded to fires in dozens of homeless encampments around the city since last spring, but especially as people tried to stay warm. He called heating devices in nylon tents particularly dangerous.

Mokosso said at the end of November, a man was badly hurt in an RV fire at an encampment near Interstate 94.