Wis. Apartment Fire Kills 2 Stillwater Friends

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 reports Clarkson was severely burned in Monday's fire that also killed his roommate, 21-year-old Ross Livermore. Livermore died of smoke inhalation, according to the autopsy report.

Firefighters found Livermore and Clarkson unconscious inside the apartment.   

Two other roommates - Garret Isakson and Casey Malan, both 21 - escaped the fire and have been released from a local hospital.

All of the roommates were friends from Stillwater, Minn. They lived in an apartment above a real estate business.

The University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, is helping out the two other students who survived by giving them clothing, food, and a place to stay.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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