UPDATED November 14, 2012 --- 3:21 p.m.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) -- Inspectors have completed their on-scene investigation into an off-campus apartment fire that killed two University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students from Minnesota last month.
Fire Inspector Gary Puljas says in a news release Wednesday that physical evidence gathered at the scene will now be analyzed. He says it's not known how long that analysis will take.
Earlier, Puljas said the fire likely started in one of the apartment's bedrooms.
Jacob Clarkson and Ross Livermore, both 21, died as a result of the Oct. 8 fire. Two other roommates escaped the blaze. The four friends graduated from high school in Stillwater, Minn., in 2009.
The property is being returned to the owner Wednesday. The cause of the fire remains undetermined.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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UPDATED Thursday, October 18, 2012 --- 7:00 a.m.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) -- An Eau Claire fire inspector says the off-campus fire that killed two University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students from Minnesota likely started in one of the apartment's bedrooms.
Fire Inspector Gary Puljas tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press (http://bit.ly/U6tT0n ) most of the damage was done to the two bedrooms on the south side of the four-bedroom apartment.
In a news release Wednesday, Puljas says the fire apparently started on the second floor but the cause is still unknown.
Jacob Clarkson and Ross Livermore, both 21, died as a result of the Oct. 8 fire. Two other roommates escaped the blaze. The four friends graduated from high school in Stillwater, Minn., in 2009.
Fire inspectors and insurance representatives plan to tour the site in November.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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UPDATED Wednesday, October 10, 2012 --- 10:38 a.m.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) -- Family members say the two young men who died in an off-campus apartment fire in Eau Claire and their two surviving roommates were life-long friends bound together by a love of music.
The four 21-year-old friends all graduated from high school together in Stillwater, Minn, in 2009. The enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and lived above a real estate business near campus. Ross Livermore and Jacob Clarkson died when their apartment caught fire Monday. Garret Isakson and Casey Malan survived.
Isakson's mother, Connie, tells the Star Tribune the four have been friends since third grade and played together in the high school pep band. Livermore and Clarkson went on to play in the university's bands.
Dean of students, Brian Carlisle, says the university is arranging for clothing, food and shelter for Isakson and Malan.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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UPDATED: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 --- 5:42p.m.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) -- A second student has died after fire swept an off-campus apartment near the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
A spokeswoman for Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis says 21-year-old Jacob Clarkson died Tuesday.
Clarkson's family issued a statement saying they will "miss him more than words can say." Family members say they are honoring Clarkson's decision to be an organ donor.
The Leader-Telegram (http://bit.ly/QRnWSq) reports Clarkston was severely burned in Monday's fire that also killed his roommate, 21-year-old Ross Livermore.
Two other roommates escaped the fire and have been released from a local hospital. All of the roommates were friends from Stillwater, Minn.
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Information from: Leader-Telegram, http://www.leadertelegram.com/
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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UPDATED Tuesday, October 9, 2012 --- 9:40 a.m.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) -- Authorities have identified the young man killed and three others injured when fire swept their off-campus apartment near the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Eau Claire fire officials say the four roommates were friends from Stillwater, Minn. They lived in an apartment above a real estate business in Eau Claire. Two of the four men escaped the building when fire broke out early Monday, while firefighters found two others unconscious inside.
Fire officials say 21-year-old Ross Livermore, a computer science major, was killed in the fire. Twenty-two-year-old Jacob Clarkson, also a computer science major, is hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center in critical condition Tuesday. The university says Livermore was on an approved leave from the university.
WEAU-TV (http://tinyurl.com/96raptb ) says Garret Isakson and Casey Malan, both 21, were treated at a local hospital and released.
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Information from: WEAU-TV, http://www.weau.com
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
