One dead in St. Paul house fire

One person is dead after a Sunday morning house fire in St. Paul, the first fire fatality in the city this year.

More than 70 firefighters battled the blaze for four hours after responding at 8:40 a.m. Sunday in the 1800 block of Carroll Avenue. Authorities said two of the three people at the two-story home escaped on their own and firefighters found the third person, who died at the scene and hasn't yet been identified. A cat also died in the fire, according to the St. Paul Fire Department.

Two firefighters were injured while working to extinguish the fire, which also damaged an adjacent home and displaced four residents. According to the fire department, the preliminary cause of the fire was accidental and started in the kitchen.

Last year, four people died in St. Paul fires.