Wild players mourn Jessi Pierce after White Bear Lake fire
Beloved hockey reporter Jessi Pierce has been identified as the adult victim in a White Bear Lake house fire that killed four people — Pierce, her three children and the family dog — White Bear Lake Fire Chief Greg Peterson confirmed. Minnesota Wild officials and players, including GM Bill Guerin, coach John Hynes and captain Jared Spurgeon, expressed shock and grief, calling Pierce a “kind, compassionate” and dedicated ambassador for the game; the Wild beat the Dallas Stars hours after learning of the deaths and said they will carry the loss on their upcoming road trip.
📌 Key Facts
- The adult victim in the White Bear Lake house fire has been identified as hockey reporter Jessi Pierce, who covered the Minnesota Wild and the NHL; White Bear Lake Fire Chief Greg Peterson confirmed she was the adult found in the home.
- All three children killed in the fire were Pierce’s children; the family dog also died in the blaze.
- The Minnesota Wild issued a formal statement calling Pierce “kind, compassionate” and a “dedicated ambassador” for the game.
- Wild GM Bill Guerin, coach John Hynes, captain Jared Spurgeon and forward Marcus Foligno gave on‑record comments expressing shock, grief and memories of Pierce.
- Guerin emphasized that players, coaches and media are “all in this hockey world together,” saying the team will miss her and support the media contingent.
- Spurgeon recalled Pierce bringing her children into the dressing room for interviews and said the team was “very shook” by the news.
- The Wild played and beat the Dallas Stars 2‑1 in overtime just hours after learning of the deaths and said they will carry the loss with them on a three‑game road trip.
📊 Relevant Data
Non-Hispanic Black Americans had a home fire death rate of 15.1 deaths per million population from 2015 to 2019, compared to 9.8 for Non-Hispanic White Americans, while Black Americans comprise about 13% of the U.S. population.
US Fire Death Rates by State — NFPA
Non-Hispanic Native American or Alaska Native individuals had a home fire death rate of 18.2 deaths per million population from 2015 to 2019, the highest among racial/ethnic groups, compared to the overall U.S. average of 10.0.
US Fire Death Rates by State — NFPA
African American or Black children under 10 had a fire death rate roughly twice that of all children under 10 from 2015 to 2019.
US Fire Death Rates by State — NFPA
Communities with 20% or more of the population below the poverty line had a fire death rate of 12.4 per million in 2012, nearly five times higher than the 2.6 per million in communities with less than 5% below the poverty line.
Poverty & Fire Risk — NFPA
In lowest income census tracts (median income less than $20,000), the relative risk of injury in home fires was 8.1 times higher than in high-income tracts (median income greater than $80,000) based on 1991-1997 data, with lowest income houses least likely to have smoke alarms.
Poverty & Fire Risk — NFPA
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Wild GM Bill Guerin, coach John Hynes, captain Jared Spurgeon and forward Marcus Foligno gave on‑record comments describing their shock, grief and memories of Jessi Pierce.
- Guerin emphasized that players, coaches and media are "all in this hockey world together" and said the team would miss her and support the media contingent.
- Spurgeon recalled Pierce bringing her children into the dressing room for interviews and described the team as "very shook" by the news.
- The story notes the Wild played and beat the Dallas Stars 2‑1 in overtime just hours after learning of the deaths, and will carry the loss with them on a three‑game road trip.
- White Bear Lake Fire Chief Greg Peterson is quoted by name confirming that Pierce was the adult victim found in the home.
- The adult woman killed in the White Bear Lake house fire has been identified as hockey reporter Jessi Pierce, who covered the Minnesota Wild and the NHL.
- The Minnesota Wild organization issued a formal statement describing Pierce as a 'kind, compassionate' person and a 'dedicated ambassador' for the game.
- FOX 9 confirms that all three children killed in the fire were Pierce’s children, along with the family dog.