The CEO for the online shoe retailer Zappos had recently died from inhaling smoke in a house fire earlier this month in Connecticut, the state medical examiner’s office said on Monday (Nov 30).
The death of Tony Hseih was on Friday, where it was ruled as an accident. Hseih was hospitalized following the Nov. 18 fire in New London.
The cause of the blaze was still under investigation, where the police department said that the emergency workers arrived at the scene to see black smoke coming out from the house, where Hseih was trapped in the storage area and was unable to get out.
Hsieh clung to life for another nine days before finally losing the battle. The medical examiner reported that his death was caused by smoke inhalation, and the death was ruled out as an accident.
The fire broke out around 3:30 am on November 18 at a $1.3 million waterfront home in New London, Connecticut, where Hsieh, former CEO of the giant Zappos empire, and his brother had been staying.
The home was bought by long-time Zappos employee Rachael Brown in July.
Hsieh, 46, was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London before being airlifted to a hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where died on the day after Thanksgiving.
Online shoe magnate Tony Hsieh was barricaded inside a storage area when the blaze that took his life broke out, according to the fire department dispatch.
And though it only took firefighters minutes to break down the door and drag him out, it was too late to save him.
‘One victim being pulled from the fire now — unresponsive,’ a firefighter says just eight and a half minutes into the call. The fire was reported as under control moments later.
Hsieh, 46, was originally taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London before being airlifted to a hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he died on the day after Thanksgiving.
After 20 years of leading the Zappos company, the Harvard University graduate still remained an online retailer after the company was sold to Amazon in 2009 for US$1.2 billion.
Source: CNA, Bon Haiti News
