Minneapolis Man Who Died Helping Roommates In Fire ID'd

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 25-year-old Minneapolis man who died helping his roommates escape a raging house fire has been identified.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner says Adam Briesemeister was killed due to smoke inhalation. Another was critically injured in the fire at the south Minneapolis home early Wednesday morning.

The fire broke out at a home on the 3500 block of Harriet Avenue South. Neighbors noticed the flames and called fire crews. They also reportedly tried to throw rocks at the building's windows to wake up the residents inside.

The Minneapolis fire chief confirmed that one man was found dead in the home, and a woman was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in critical condition for smoke inhalation. She has been identified as 27-year-old Sadie Norlin.

Two people had to be rescued from the second floor of the house by ladder — one man and one woman.

In all, five people lived in the house, all of them in their 20s. Crews said one of the residents was not home at the time of the fire.

The Minneapolis Arson Unit said the origin of the fire was the front enclosed porch. The fire's cause, however, is undetermined -- meaning that the cause cannot be proven to an acceptable level of certainty.