(CNN) — Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh suffered fatal injuries when the shed where he was sleeping — and which was locked from the inside — caught fire, says a report from the police in New London, Connecticut, announced Tuesday.
The final statement on the Nov. 18 fire said police found “no criminal violations and/or aspects.”
Hsieh’s death was announced in late November by a spokesperson for DTP Companies. That statement said Hsieh, who was 46, died peacefully and surrounded by family. He had survived several days in the hospital after the fire.
Dozens of tributes poured in on social media following the news, some calling Hsieh a “brilliant entrepreneur” and others praising his kindness and generosity.
In an incident report, the New London Fire Department said that while the cause of the fire is “undetermined,” human factors such as alcohol and drug impairment may have contributed to it.
According to witness accounts cited by police, Hsieh had gone outside to sleep in a shed that was attached to the house he was staying in, after having an argument with the homeowner, whom some witnesses described as Hsieh’s girlfriend, others as a friend.
Hsieh’s brother, friends and employees were also at the house as they were scheduled to leave for the Hawaiian island of Maui early in the morning, the police reports say. According to one report, Hsieh “was taking everyone to Hawaii for a getaway.”
Witnesses told police that, after he went to the shed, Hsieh was initially being checked on every 10 minutes.
Hsieh’s personal assistant told police that Hsieh was lying under a blanket and had ignited candles and a propane heater in the shed. At one point, the assistant noted that the “blanket was almost touching the flame of the candle” and asked Hsieh to put the candle out. Hsieh complied.
Hsieh then “asked that he be checked on every 5 minutes,” which the group complied with, according to one incident report.
During that first five-minute check, witnesses “discovered smoke coming from inside the shed and they could not get inside because it was locked from the inside.”
Witnesses told police they broke a window and attempted to extinguish the fire, according to the police reports.
Emergency services personnel arrived at the home around 3:30 a.m., according to police. Firefighters forced the shed’s door open and removed Hsieh. He was then taken to the hospital.
The personal assistant told police that Hsieh’s dog had recently died and Hsieh was “distraught.” But that assistant added they had “never heard the victim make (any) suicidal or homicidal statements.”
The police report says that, according to a medical examiner’s investigator, Hsieh had brain edema from the hot gases and soot from the fire and was placed on a ventilator. The family requested that he be taken off the ventilator, the police report says.
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