Connecticut fire investigators have uncovered several hypotheses in connection with the fire in New London that killed Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos, late last year, and are considering whether the fire was caused by the possible misuse of candles, the careless disposal of smoking materials or even if an intentional act by Hsieh “was to blame.
The 19-page incident report released by the New London Fire Department on Tuesday set out how several people, including Tony Hsieh and his brother Andrew, were staying in the house in Pequot Avenue when the fire broke out shortly before 3:30 p.m. 18, 2020. Everyone except Tony Hsieh was able to escape.
Hsieh was “trapped” in the pool room, the report said, through barn doors that were “locked with a single key with a death-line lock.”
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Hsieh and the group would soon leave for Hawaii shortly after the fire broke out and a limousine arrived to take them to the airport around 3:20 p.m., according to a timeline provided by the fire department.
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, judges attendees at the fourth annual Halloween parade in Las Vegas on October 31, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Hsieh, 46, remained in the room like a barn after he and the homeowner and his rumors, Rachael Brown, had an argument the previous night around 11:30 p.m. She asked him to leave the property until they left for Maui, and Hsieh moved to the pool room.
The timeline shows that his friends checked him every ten minutes, including when they told Hsieh that it had to go at 3:20 p.m. At that point, he replied, “Five more minutes.”
But by 3:21 a.m., the carbon monoxide detector alarm was activated. By 3:24 a.m., a camera placed at the entrance to the barn failed due to the fire, the timeline indicates. The fire brigade was called at 03:26
Just minutes earlier, at 3:14 a.m., authorities said an accident inside the barn could be heard.
It takes six minutes from the first fire truck to arrive at the scene for responders to reach Hsieh, the report said. When firefighters found him, he was ‘in a supine position on a blanket’ in the barn.
Hsieh “was with his left side on the blanket and his right side slightly raised with his right arm over his chest,” the report describes. “Hsieh looked at the two doors that were forced open by the firefighters.”
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A sketch released by the fire department shows how the flames were lit between Hsieh and his only apparent exit. According to the report, candles, a marijuana pipe and cigarettes were found at the scene.
His death is considered accidental and caused by complications of smoke inhalation, officials said earlier.
A new London Fire Department sketch shows the approximate location of Tony Hsieh’s body during the fire. (New London Fire Department)
Authorities to be heard does not believe there was crime, but said the cause of the fire is so far undetermined. Investigators have identified four possible hypotheses, including that ‘candle abuse caused this fire’, the report said.
‘Several candles were found in and around the area of fire origin’, the report explains. It is noted that one of the other people who went into the house said that he checked Hsieh around 01:00 and saw ‘candles burning and that one of the candles was on fire on a section of a blanket lit. ‘
The report adds: “The fact that candles were lit in the vicinity of fire, and the fact that about two hours before the fire occurred, an accidental fire in a blanket occurred … misuse of candles could not be removed as a result of the fire. “
A second of the four hypotheses describes how the fire could have possibly been caused by a carelessness or even an intentional act of Hsieh, ‘the report reads.
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Investigators discovered a burnt plastic bag with sung Post-it notes in it near the fire area, as well as a gray basket that also contained burnt paper.
Authorities reviewed video indicating that Hsieh had set the plastic bag on fire, officials said.
According to the report, the discoveries are an indication of a fire pattern that could have caused this fire. ‘
Witnesses also told investigators they discovered a candle burning in the barn “near Hsieh” earlier that night.
The fire department also said it had “found physical evidence to theorize that Hsieh could have been assaulted or intoxicated during the fire.”
According to the report, authorities ‘discovered several Whip-It fuel dioxide chargers and whipped cream dispenser, a marijuana pipe and Fernet Branca liqueur bottles’. Investigators also found a “plastic bottle of Tiki fuel” in the area.
“Intoxication can affect an individual’s ability to recognize and respond to the dangers of fire,” the report explains.
Investigators also say the fire could have started when a propane heater “came in direct contact or in the vicinity of the heating elements with the nearby fuel that led to the fire.” The heater was placed on or near a stack of storage space near the door and ‘was located in an area with the greatest thermal damage and mass loss of material’, the report explains.
“This thermal damage and mass loss of material is the result of a fire that occurred in the area near / below the propane tank,” the report continues. ‘The fire heated the propane tank to a point when the relief valve as designed for [relieve] the pressure in the tank. This caused the propane gas to flow out of the tank and come into contact with the open flame. ‘
The report also said that one of the two heating elements was broken or removed and that the assembly “was no longer attached to the carrying handle and was in a horizontal position with the heating element on the carrying handle.”
It describes how a ‘low percentage possibility’ exists that the fire will ignite in this way, but says that the possibility cannot be ruled out.
Another hypothesis was that the fire was caused by a non-smoking smoking material (cigarettes or marijuana).
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Investigators said they found a number of discarded cigarettes in the area, in addition to the marijuana pipe. But the report also describes how there is a ‘low percentage possibility’ that the fire started.
A spokesman for Hsieh’s family said they would not comment “because they continue to mourn.”
The spokesman added: “Right now and in the foreseeable future, they are focusing on their work to continue Tony’s legacy.”