The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s State Fire Marshal has released its findings about the house fire that killed NHL reporter Jessi Pierce and her three young children in March.
The fire was “accidental and started by an electrical source,” the division said in a press release on Thursday, September 24.
It was determined the fire started in a room being used as an office, caused by “overheating electrical equipment.”
Pierce, 37, and her three children — sons Hudson, 8, and Cayden, 6, and daughter Avery, 4 — were all killed when their single-family Minnesota home caught on fire on March 21. The family’s dog also died.
Per the report, the smoke alarm closest to the bedrooms would have activated “approximately four minutes” after the fire started, which was first reported at 5:26 a.m.
Within five minutes, “conditions along the primary escape path would have become almost impossible to navigate.”
“There is no investigation finding that can change the loss this family is living with,” State Fire Marshal Dan Krier said. “But we hope this investigation can help bring some understanding to what happened and remind all of us how quickly a residential fire can develop. Sometimes there may be very little time to react, which is why every second matters.”
Pierce’s husband, Mike Hinrichs, released a statement in conjunction with the report’s findings on Thursday. Hinrichs was also the father to all three children lost in the blaze.
“My world came crashing down when the lives of my beloved wife, Jessi, and our three beautiful children, sons Hudson and Cayden and daughter Avery, were all lost to me forever in the horrible fire that destroyed our home,” Hinrichs said. “This truly unfathomable loss and all-consuming grief is with me every day and will be forever with every breath God allows me to take.”
The statement continued, “My only purpose today at this occasion is to express my thanks to the brave first responders and firefighters, the White Bear Lake fire investigators and the State Fire Marshal’s team for their efforts that morning and continuing to this day. My deepest thanks and gratitude go out to all those in the community that have supported me and our other family members in this darkest of times. Your kindness has not gone unnoticed, even if we have been too numb to adequately acknowledge your compassion and sympathy.”
Hinrichs gave “special thanks” to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, who Pierce covered tirelessly for years.
“Family always came first for Jessi, but all things hockey ran a close second,” he said. “She loved the Wild and the game of hockey with boundless enthusiasm and communicated her joy and passion for the sport to all those who could hear her voice.”
Hinrichs concluded, “Thank you for remembering the best of my family and for your continued prayers and support.”
