Questions linger after house fire that killed Tony Hsieh – Las Vegas Review-Journal

A month after the house fire that led to the death of tech entrepreneur Tony Hsieh, answers about what happened that night remain limited.

And an investigation that could reveal additional details is not expected to be finalized until next month at the earliest, according to Jeffrey Londregan, law director for the city of New London, Connecticut.

Hsieh, the former CEO of online shoe retailer Zappos, died Nov. 27 from complications of smoke inhalation following a fire that occurred nine days earlier at a home in New London. The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the 46-year-olds death an accident.

Fire officials and police are conducting a joint investigation into the Nov. 18 fire.

What caused the fire remains unclear. There also are unanswered questions about whether Hsieh was trapped or barricaded during the fire, as both terms were used in archived emergency responder radio traffic.

Calls on Thursday to Fire Chief Thomas Curcio, an assistant for Police Chief Peter Reichard and Fire Marshal Vernon Skau were not returned.

Reports of drug use

Multiple news reports have indicated that Hsieh was abusing drugs in the months leading up to his death.

In August, the same month he retired as CEO of Zappos, Hsiehs family and friends were concerned for his welfare and were trying to get him into rehab, records obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal show.

However, the medical examiners office has offered no indication that substances played a role in Hsiehs death. The office did not perform a toxicology screening on Hsieh after he died, according to Linda Sylvia, executive secretary for the office.

Whether the hospital conducted a toxicology screening is unclear. A spokesman for Bridgeport Hospital, where Hsieh died, would not provide any information about the care Hsieh received or any tests that may have been performed, citing patient privacy.

And whether the autopsy conducted by the medical examiners office becomes public depends on whether Hsiehs family consents to its release. No one was available to handle media inquiries at the medical examiners office on Thursday.

At the moment, the Hsieh family are grieving a beloved son and brother and have nothing to say on the question of the autopsy report, Miguel Head, a spokesman for the family, said in a statement.

What Hsieh wanted done with his fortune also remains a mystery because he died without a will. Hsiehs father and a brother were appointed administrators of his estate early this month.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.

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Questions linger after house fire that killed Tony Hsieh - Las Vegas Review-Journal