MENOMONIE, Wis. — Students wept and shook their heads, looking for answers Saturday at a news conference after the early morning deaths of three University of Wisconsin-Stout students.

Amanda Jean Rief, 20, from Chaska, Minn.; April C. Englund, 21, from St. Paul, Minn.; and Scott A. Hams, 23, from Hayward, all were found in a two-story structure and rushed to an area hospital but could not be revived.

According to Menomonie Fire Chief Jack Baus, police received a call from neighbors who heard smoke alarms at 3:32 a.m. Firefighters arrived on the scene at 3:37 a.m. They used thermal imaging equipment to locate the three victims in three separate bedrooms on the second floor of the 1415 8th St. residence.

“We attempted resuscitation as soon as possible upon removal from the house, and medics did what they could to revive them,” Baus said.

Six other students living in the back half of the duplex all evacuated safely Saturday and made the call to 911. …