By Grace Jacobson / News Director

SAUK RAPIDS, Minn. — A man is dead following a house fire in rural Sauk Rapids on Sunday.

Around 1:45 p.m., the Benton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a house fire on 75th Street Northeast in Watab Twp. after the 911 caller reported the house and the man outside of it on fire.

Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck says the caller “unsuccessfully tried to extinguish” the man before calling 911.

Responding deputies attempted to provide first aid to him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The State Fire Marshall is helping the investigation into the circumstances around the fire and the man’s death.

**UPDATE** 04/23/2024 8:54 a.m.

On Tuesday, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the identity of the man who died
in the fire as 76-year-old John David Schram of Sauk Rapids.

The investigation into the cause of the fire and circumstances that led to Schram’s death
remains ongoing.