Cause of triple-fatal Sioux Falls fire undetermined

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SIOUX FALLS (AP) — Authorities cannot determine the cause of a house fire in Sioux Falls that killed three children because the home was so badly damaged, investigators announced Tuesday.

The Dec. 22 blaze killed Michael Hensley, 16, Savannah Coon, 12, and Alivia Coon, 6. Their mother, Rhiannon White, and her husband escaped with minor injuries by jumping from a second-floor window.

City Fire Marshall Dean Lanier said officials think the fire started in the home's living room but the cause can't be determined, according to a media reports.

"The focus in that living space was a table and chair that sat up against a wall in the living room," Lanier said. "We found this area to be the origin of the fire. However, due to the lack of evidence, we are going to have to list the fire as undetermined."

The home was so damaged that authorities were unable to enter it for a couple weeks.

White, 34, faces drug charges for allegedly having methamphetamine and ecstasy in her body at the time of the fire. Police spokesman Sam Clemens said there was no evidence of drugs or paraphernalia inside the home.

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