Updated at: 01/29/2010 2:13 PM | KSAX.com
By: Megan Matthews

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Investigators Identify Man Killed in Dalton Home Fire

DALTON, MINN. - The Dalton man who died Thursday morning following a fire at his home has now been identified by the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office.

The man has been identified as 28-year-old Michael Paul Jacobs.

Investigators said the man died from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of the fire.

Jabobs' body was found just before 1:00 a.m. Thursday, after authorities responded to the house fire in rural Dalton.

It happened at a single residence at 14602 Co. Hwy. 82, and Dalton and Fergus Falls Fire Departments were on scene at 12:40 a.m.

They had not officially identified the name of the deceased Thursday,  but many people in the Dalton community already knew the victim was Jacobs. 

"I was just stunned," Kelly Walvatne said.  He knew the Jacobs and said he saw him around town from time to time. 

"I wasn't close with him.  I mean we went to school together, and I just saw him there I think either Monday or Tuesday...It's just kind of hard to believe that...that's it," Walvatne said.

Officials were still investigating the cause of the fire Friday,  and the house was a total loss.

"It's a very difficult situation," Otter Tail County Lieutenant Mike Bowen said.

The small, tight-knit Dalton community was reeling from the news.

"Everybody's just stunned...like it's not real," Walvatne said.

This is the second fatal fire in Otter Tail County this year, and the second death of a younger community member in ten days.  Sixteen-year-old Justin Woldahl was killed last Tuesday in a snowmobile accident.

"It's just too much in the last couple days with what happened in Ashby.  I was close to him...I knew him very well and then to hear this I was just stunned," Walvatne said.

The Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal's Office still do not know the cause of the fire and were continuing the investigation.  

 Lieutenant Bowen said it's important for people to check smoke alarms, especially if living by themselves.

"It makes you think that it could happen at any time...you never know.  It's kind of scary," Walvatne said.

Written for the web by Megan Matthews

megan@ksax.com