Connecticut fire investigators have launched several hypotheses in connection with the New London fire that killed Zappos founder Tony Hsieh last year and are considering whether the fire was caused by the potential misuse of candles, careless disposal of smoky materials or even whether “an intentional act by Hsieh” was to blame.
The 19-page incident report released by the New London Fire Department on Tuesday details how several people, including Tony Hsieh and his brother Andrew, were staying in a house on Pequot Avenue when the fire started just before 3:30 am on November . 18, 2020. Everyone, except Tony Hsieh, managed to escape.
Hsieh was “trapped” in the snooker room, the report says, by shed doors that were “locked with a single set of keypad-type locks”.
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Hsieh and the group were due to leave for Hawaii shortly after the fire and a limo to take them to the airport at about 3:20 am, according to the schedule provided by the fire department.
Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh is the judge of the contestants during the fourth annual Halloween parade in Las Vegas on October 31, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Hsieh, 46, was staying in a room that looked like a shed after he, the owner and his alleged girlfriend, Rachael Brown, had an argument around 11:30 pm the night before. She asked him to leave the property until they left for Maui, and Hsieh moved into the billiard room.
The timeline shows that his friends were checking on him every 10 minutes, including when they told Hsieh it was time to go at 3:20 am. He replied, “Five more minutes.”
But at 3:21 am, the alarm for the carbon monoxide detector was activated. At 3:24 am, a camera positioned at the entrance to the shed had failed because of the fire, indicates the timeline. The fire department was called at 3:26 am
A few minutes earlier, at 3:14 am, the authorities said that an accident could be heard inside the shed.
It took six minutes for the first fire truck to arrive on the scene for the response teams to reach Hsieh, the report notes. When firefighters found him, he was “lying supine on a blanket” inside the shed.
Hsieh “was located with the left side on the blanket and the right side slightly raised with the right arm on the chest,” describes the report. “Hsieh was facing the two doors that were forcibly opened by the fire department.”
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A sketch released by the fire department shows the flames burning between Hsieh and his only apparent outlet. Candles, a marijuana pipe and cigarettes were found at the scene, according to the report.
His death was considered accidental and caused by complications from smoke inhalation, officials said earlier.
A sketch from the New London Fire Department shows the approximate location of Tony Hsieh’s body at the time of the fire. (New London Fire Department)
Authorities supposedly I do not believe that crime is involved, but said the cause of the fire is still undetermined. The investigators identified four possible hypotheses, including that “the misuse of candles started the fire,” says the report.
“Several candles were found in and around the fire source area,” explains the report. He notes that one of the other people staying at the house said he checked Hsieh around 1 am and saw “candles burning and one of the candles’ lit a piece of a blanket”.
The report adds: “The fact that candles were located in the area where the fire originated and the fact that approximately two hours before the fire there was an accidental fire in a blanket … the misuse of candles cannot be eliminated as a cause of that fire. “
A second of the four hypotheses describes how the fire may have been started by “carelessness or even an intentional act by Hsieh”, says the report.
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Investigators discovered a burnt plastic bag with scorched Post-it notes near the fire area, as well as a gray basket that also contained burnt paper.
Authorities analyzed the video that indicated that Hsieh had set the plastic bag on fire, officials said.
The findings, the report said, are “indicative of a fire pattern that could have caused this fire.”
Witnesses also told investigators that early in the evening, they discovered a candle burning a blanket in the shed “near Hsieh.
The fire department also said it found “physical evidence to theorize that Hsieh could have been harmed or intoxicated at the time of the fire”.
According to the report, the authorities discovered “several Whip-It nitrous oxide carriers and whipped cream dispenser, a marijuana pipe and bottles of Fernet Branca liquor.” Investigators also found “a plastic fuel bottle for Tiki torches” in the area.
“Intoxication can affect an individual’s ability to recognize and respond to the dangers presented by the fire,” explains the report.
Researchers also say the fire may have started when a propane heater “came into direct contact with or near heating elements with nearby fuels, resulting in the fire.” The heater was placed on or near a storage pile near the door and “was located in an area of greatest thermal damage and loss of material mass,” explains the report.
“This thermal damage and loss of material mass is the result of a fire that occurred in the area nearby / under the propane tank,” continues the report. “The fire heated the propane tank to a point where the relief valve operated as per the project to [relieve] the pressure in the tank. This resulted in propane gas flowing from the tank and coming into contact with the open flame. “
The report also said that one of the two heating elements was broken or removed and the assembly “was no longer attached to the carrying handle and was in a horizontal position with the heating element resting on the carrying handle.”
He describes how there is a “low percentage of possibility” that the fire started that way, but says that the possibility cannot be eliminated.
Another hypothesis was that the fire was caused by “careless smoking material (cigarettes or marijuana)”.
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The investigators reported finding “several discarded cigarettes” in the area, in addition to the marijuana pipe. But the report also describes how there is a “low percentage of possibility” that the fire started that way.
A spokesman for Hsieh’s family said they would not comment “because they are still suffering”.
The spokesman added: “Now and in the near future, they are focused on their work to continue Tony’s legacy.”