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Former Zappos chief executive Tony Hsieh locked himself in a rear shed – surrounded by liquor bottles, a marijuana pipe, nitrous oxide cartridges and a whipped cream dispenser – in the minutes before his unconscious discovery following inhalation of smoke, according to a report by firefighters. published Tuesday.
The New London, Connecticut Fire Department report offers the most comprehensive account yet of the circumstances of Hsieh’s death last November.
But fire investigators said they were unable to determine whether “negligence or even an intentional act of Hsieh” could have started the blaze. And they noted that the existence of drugs and alcohol suggests that the 46-year-old entrepreneur may have been weakened or intoxicated at the time of the fire, which could explain why he didn’t. reacted when the fire started.
The Connecticut State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Hsieh’s death accidental. He died of smoke inhalation nine days after being removed from the hangar.
In the days following Hsieh’s death, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes quoted friends of Hsieh as saying he had been in a spiral of alcohol and drugs – including the use of “whippets,” l inhaling nitrous oxide cartridges like those found in whipped cream. containers.
New London Fire Marshal Vernon Skau, speaking at a press conference on Monday, said Hsieh entered the shed that night after arguing with the owner of the house, who was identified as a former ruler of Zappos.
Hsieh was staying at home with his younger brother Andrew and several other people, according to the report. They were to leave early in the morning for a trip to Hawaii, and the owner of the house had told Hsieh to vacate the property until they left for Maui, according to the report.
Hsieh entered the hangar shortly before midnight. Some time before 3 a.m. on November 17, one of Hsieh’s friends checked him inside the 300-square-foot shed and noticed that a candle was burning a blanket near Hsieh, according to the report.
The friend, Anthony Hebert, asked Hsieh to put out the candles, and he did, according to the report.
A security camera captured a discussion between Hsieh and Hebert in which Herbert could be heard saying, “You’re going to smoke yourself outside” and “This is poison,” the report says.
Hsieh replied, “It’s poisonous, but I used it to start a fire,” according to the report.
Surveillance video showed Hsieh opening the hangar door at around 3:15 am No one was outside, but “occasional light smoke” “billowed out of the door,” according to the report.
“It appears that there was an outbreak of fire in the hangar at that time,” the report said.
Hsieh tried to close the door but was unable to close it completely because the pool suction hose was in the way. He moved a propane heater outside of the shed, but brought it back shortly after.
Security camera footage showed “an increase in smoke emanating from the hangar with burning embers,” the report said.
Hsieh, despite the presence of smoke, closed the door. Investigators said they could hear in surveillance footage the sound of a locked deadbolt from inside the hangar.
At 3:20 a.m., Hsieh’s brother Andrew knocked on the door and told him it was time to leave. From inside the hangar, Hsieh could be heard in video footage telling his brother to return in five minutes, according to the report.
Smoke entered the view of the camera a minute later, followed by the sound of a carbon monoxide alarm in the hangar. A minute later, a sound is heard indicating that the relief valve on the propane tank has been “actuated to relieve pressure from inside the tank,” according to the report.
The video shows a dramatic escalation of smoke emanating from the hangar and at 3:24 a.m. the stream is dead, according to the report.
One of the friends told investigators that he and Andrew returned to the hangar at around the same time and attempted to break down the door.
Firefighters arrived within minutes and forced the door. Hsieh was found lying face up on a blanket. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and then airlifted to the Connecticut Burn Center, where he died on November 27.
In addition to Fernet Branca’s drug paraphernalia and liquor bottles, fire investigators found inside the shed several discarded cigarettes and several candles, according to the report.
It is possible that the fire was started by improper use of candles, a carelessly thrown cigarette or because the portable heater came in contact with “fuels nearby,” the report said.
Hebert did not respond to a request for comment. An attorney for Hsieh’s family did not respond to a request for comment.
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