LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh had retreated to a shed at a Connecticut home after a fight with his girlfriend and was using a propane heater to stay warm before the fire that killed him, the I-Team confirmed Tuesday.
Though the exact cause of the fire is undetermined, investigators said it likely started at 3:14 a.m. on Nov. 18, a full 10 minutes before the first 9-1-1 call was made, investigators said.
Hsieh was in a storage room with a 20-pound propane tank at the time of the Nov. 18 fire. Hsieh died in Connecticut on Friday, Nov. 27 after being rescued from the fire. He was 46.
New London Fire Marshal Vernon Skau provided a timeline of events:
Nov. 16
12:50 a.m. Fire alarm sounds, no response
1:16 a.m. Fire alarm sounds due to a melted piece of plastic found on a stove
Nov. 17
11:30 p.m. Hsieh and his girlfriend, Rachael Brown, get into an argument. Brown asks Hsieh to leave the property until they are due to depart for Hawaii in the morning. Hsieh retreated to an attached shed for the night.
Nov. 18
12:00 a.m. Hsieh moves into the attached shed
12:58 a.m. An employee finds Hsieh lit a small fire
1:00 a.m. An employee begins checking on Hsieh every 10 minutes, knocking on the shed door and leaving Post-It notes
2:50 a.m. The employee checks on Hsieh for the last time
3:14 a.m. Hsieh opens the door to the shed, finding no one outside. Surveillance video shows smoke coming from the shed and a crashing sound is heard
3:20 a.m. A limo arrives to take the group to the airport. Hsieh’s brother checks on him. He does not answer.
3:21 a.m. The carbon-monoxide alarm sounds in the shed
3:24 a.m. The camera cuts out due to the fire
3:26 a.m. The fire department is dispatched to the home
3:38 a.m. Hsieh is removed from the shed
3:54 a.m. The ambulance arrives at the hospital
Nov. 27
Hsieh dies in the hospital
