FRENCH TOWNSHIP — A 53-year-old Hibbing man died from injuries sustained in a campfire explosion in French Township on Friday, Aug. 30. Seven other people were injured.

A press release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said that several families and friends were gathered in the 12000 block of Jaranson Road for a campfire when an unknown flammable liquid was used to start the fire. Eight people, ranging in age from 14 to 59, were injured by flame inhalation and burned in the ensuing explosion.

The man from Hibbing was identified as Marvin Theisen.

The French Township Fire Department, EMS, Chisholm and Hibbing EMS, Life Link III and Guardian Flight responded to a report of multiple people suffering from burns at 8:20 p.m. Friday evening.

A 14-year-old girl from Saginaw was airlifted to a Twin Cities hospital for further care. Six other burn victims, all from Minnesota, suffered injuries described as minor to serious and were transported by ambulance or private vehicle to area hospitals.

Others injured in the explosion were:

• Roxanne Theisen, 50, Hibbing.
• Honey Theisen, 49, Kelliher.
• Melissa Krogseng, 54, Kelliher.
• Jenette Peasley, 58, Blackduck.
• Hanna Larson, 28, International Falls.
• Raymond Poxleitner, 59, Kelliher.

The incident remains under investigation by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 7:50 p.m. on Saturday, August 31, to include the names of the man who died and the others who were injured in the explosion. The story was originally published at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 31.

Our newsroom occasionally reports on stories under the name “staff.” Often, the name “staff” is used when rewriting basic newsletters that come from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and require little or no reporting. Sometimes this name is used when a news story has multiple authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from several sources. If outside sources are used, this is noted in the story.