Before Tony Hsieh’s Death, Firefighters Rushed to Burning Home With Trapped Man
Recordings of Connecticut first responders offer look at the circumstances surrounding Hsieh’s death
Tony Hsieh at a conference in Las Vegas in 2017.
PHOTO: RICHARD BRIAN/REUTERS
By
Nov. 29, 2020 6:03 pm ET
Recordings of emergency responders offer a glimpse into the circumstances surrounding a Connecticut fire that led to the death of former Zappos.com Inc. Chief Executive Tony Hsieh.
First responders in New London, Conn., rushed to a burning three-story, beachfront home around 3:34 a.m. on Nov. 18, where an emergency worker said one man was “stuck inside,” according to a radio recording of first responders. Some firefighters and dispatchers referred to the victim as “trapped,” while one said the man was “barricaded” inside.
“The male is barricaded inside,” an emergency worker said over the radio. “He’s not answering the door. Everyone else is outside the house. They are trying to get him to open up.”
The recordings were archived by Broadcastify, which streams public-safety, marine and aircraft radio dispatches, and verified by Storyful, a news and intelligence agency, which is owned by The Wall Street Journal’s parent company, News Corp.
Mr. Hsieh’s attorney, Puoy Premsrirut, and Thomas Curcio, the New London fire chief, didn’t respond to questions about the recordings. In response to questions about Mr. Hsieh’s death, Chief Curcio confirmed that firefighters were called to the home, removed a man and took him to the hospital. Ms. Premsrirut said Mr. Hsieh died from injuries suffered in a Nov. 18 fire in New London.
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Chief Curcio said the fire was still under investigation. No cause has been released.
Dispatchers sent police officers to the home and called the New London fire chief and fire marshal to the waterfront house on Pequot Avenue, a tree- and bush-lined row of large, modern houses, overlooking a sandy beach at the mouth of the Thames River.
Firefighters went to the back of the house where they had received reports of smoke, according to the recordings. Chief Curcio said they forced their way inside to find the man.
“We have one victim being pulled from the fire now, unresponsive,” a first responder said. “And we’re going to the hospital.”
Chief Curcio said first responders performed CPR on the victim. Mr. Hsieh was eventually flown to the Connecticut Burn Center in Bridgeport, Conn., where he died Friday, a hospital spokesman said.
Property records show the home was purchased for $1.3 million in August by a woman named Rachael Brown. A longtime Zappos training manager is named Rachael Brown. She didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. Mr. Hsieh lived in Las Vegas.
An unidentified other person suffered a hand injury in the fire, according to the recording. The person refused an ambulance and further medical attention.
—Alejandro Lazo contributed to this article.
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Appeared in the November 30, 2020, print edition as 'Recordings Raise Questions on Death.' |
