A 12-year-old girl has died from injuries sustained in a house fire last week, officials confirmed Monday.
The North Mankato Fire Department said Autumn Paulson passed away Monday following a blaze that broke out early Friday morning at a home on 524 Lyndale Avenue.
Fire Chief James Zwaschka said Autumn’s mother, Stefanie Scharbach, 41, was also injured in the fire. She was treated for smoke inhalation and later released from the hospital.
Autumn was a student at Dakota Meadows Middle School, where district officials said counselors, psychologists, and social workers are being made available to support grieving classmates and staff.
First responders were called to the home around 5:30 a.m. Friday and arrived to find heavy flames and smoke coming from the second story. Four people were safely evacuated without injury. Autumn and her mother, however, were critically hurt in the fire.
Tragically, one family dog was found dead and another remains missing, Zwaschka said.
Early indications suggest the fire was accidental, though the cause remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, along with North Mankato fire and police officials.
