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Cause of fatal SD house fire undetermined
• MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) -- Fire officials say the cause of the fire that killed a 3-year-old Mitchell boy last weekend is being listed as undetermined.
• The Mitchell Daily Republic reports (http://bit.ly/I1jYjE ) that the fire investigation ended Tuesday.
• The blaze appears to have started in the laundry room but the exact cause is unknown, Mitchell Fire Marshal Marius Laursen said.
• Jaxon Sehnert died Saturday. Officials say the boy and his 6-year-old brother were airlifted to Sioux Falls hospitals after suffering smoke inhalation in the Friday night fire. The boys' mother also was hospitalized but has been released.
• The family says the 6-year-old boy is expected to make a full recovery.
• Officials say the house was engulfed in smoke when firefighters arrived on the scene. Crews used thermal imaging cameras to rescue the children.
• The Mitchell Fire Division, Mitchell Police Division and the South Dakota Fire Marshal's Office investigated the fire. While they determined the fire started near the washer and dryer, they couldn't figure out what sparked it, Laursen said.
• Laursen said there were no smoke detectors in the house, a point that a Sehnert family member has disputed.
• "I walked through the house and I didn't see one," Laursen said. "The house is boarded up. I don't have any ability to go back in there and determine that."
• Laursen said he is working with some firms to hold a large-scale smoke detector giveaway soon.
• "The important thing is we don't want anyone else to die," he said.
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AP News in Brief
Political stakes rise in fight over student loans as both sides see chance to show priorities
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats and Republicans alike say they want to prevent the cost of federal loans from ballooning for millions of students. But the effort has evolved into an election-year battle each side is using to embarrass the other and spotlight its own priorities to voters.
• In the latest political chess move, Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, scheduled a House vote for Friday on legislation preventing the 3.4 percent interest rate on sub (Continued on page 33)
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