3 children dead, 3 others and mother remain hospitalized days after St. Paul house fire

Renée Cooper & Emily Baude KSTP

3 children dead, 3 others and mother remain hospitalized days after St. Paul house fire

Three of the six children injured in a fire in St. Paul on Wednesday have succumbed to their injuries, according to family members who held a press conference on Saturday morning.

The fire, which was reported around 1:30 a.m. at a home on Arkwright Street near Hawthorne Avenue, left six children and their mother in critical condition. On Saturday, family members of the victims said three of the children, 5-year-old twin sisters Ntshiab Si and Siv Ntshiab and 4-year-old Muaj tshos Ntuj died.

A fourth child and the 28-year-old mother are in critical condition, they said.

The other two children also remain in the hospital but have improved since being in critical condition, according to family members.

The official cause of the fire has not yet been released but investigators say it is not considered suspicious. The fire department had no update to provide as of Friday morning.

During a press conference in St. Paul on Saturday morning, Pa Cheng Vang, the father of the six children and husband to the mother, said, “Thank you to everyone at home, seeing my story, praying for me, for supporting me.”

“As parents, I believe that you all know the feeling when your child is sick, when your child is burned.”

“It’s heart-wrenching,” said Pa Cheng Vang’s aunt, Yong Vang, giving the official update on behalf of the family.

“I look at my nephew and he’s able to stand, and he’s able to talk and at you smile at times. And I admire his strength because I don’t know if I could do that.”

Pa Cheng Vang encouraged families to teach kids about fire safety, and Mayor Melvin Carter, also showing his support, urged the entire community to rally around the Vangs.

“To everybody sitting at home, looking at this news story, saying, ‘Oh, that’s a horrible thing to happen for the New Year. That’s a horrible thing that happened over the holidays,’ my challenge is, don’t just stop there. This is a family in our community that needs our help.”

The family’s GoFundMe page has raised nearly $300,000 since it was created a couple of days ago. Yong Vang says they’re also working to set up a trust account in the family’s name.

If you have donation-related questions, you’re asked to call the following family representatives:

Tong ai Vang: 651-442-8952

Tong ger Vang: 763-257-3149.