Investigators Release Initial Findings About House Fire That Killed NHL’s Jessi Pierce and Her 3 Kids
Courtesy of Jessi Pierce/Instagram
Investigators in Minnesota have released their initial findings about the house fire that killed NHL reporter Jessi Pierce and her three young children.
The deadly fire was not caused by arson, the White Bear Lake Fire Department said in an update on Monday, March 23.
“Our priorities are, first and foremost, being present for those directly affected by this tragedy, conducting a thorough investigation, and ensuring our first responders involved in this incident heal alongside the community,” the department said in a statement.
Pierce, who covered the Minnesota Wild, and her three children — sons Hudson, 8, and Cayden, 6, and daughter Avery, 4 — were all killed when their single-family home caught on fire on Saturday, March 21. Pierce was 37 years old at the time of her death. The family’s dog also died in the tragedy.
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The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Pierce’s husband, Mike Hinrichs, was out of town on business at the time of the incident.
Neighbor Julie Andrus told The Minnesota Star Tribune that she was “sleeping” when the blaze broke out in the early morning hours.
“By the time the cops woke us, it was like a tornado of smoke,” she said.
Courtesy of Jessi Pierce/Instagram
Pierce, who was a fierce advocate for women’s voices in hockey, was remembered in a poignant tribute by her “Bardown Beauties” podcast cohost, Kirsten Krull, on Monday.
“Family isn’t always blood, but the people you choose and that couldn’t have been more true,” Krull wrote via Instagram. “Jessi was like another big sister to me. She had a confidence and a way of being able to talk to anyone that I envied. She had an unmatched work ethic and a huge heart. Any time I needed help, needed to rant, or needed someone she was there without hesitation. Most importantly, she was the best mom and loved her kids and family fiercely.”
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Krull, who works as the in-arena host for the Wild, said Pierce “brought me into her world and introduced me to her family and friends and I’m so grateful she did.”
“Hudson, Cayden and Avery were the best kids and I’m so grateful she let me be part of their lives,” she added. “The visits on game days, being able to come to their house and hang out with the family are memories I cherish.”
A GoFundMe was organized to help financially assist Hinrichs during “an unimaginably difficult time,” which has raised nearly $200,000 at the time of this story’s publication.
Jessi Pierce’s podcast co-host reveals how she’ll honor late NHL reporter after fatal house fire
An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Two women on a podcast titled
Each Monday, Wild in-game host Kirsten Krull would receive a notification on her phone regarding her upcoming recording session with reporter Jessi Pierce for their “Bardown Beauties” podcast.
As Krull attempts to move forward following Piece’s death in a fatal Minnesota fire this past weekend, she’s keeping that notification on her phone as a way to remember her late friend.
“Logging onto my computer, sitting at my desk with my microphone where we recorded was another hard thing I haven’t yet done but have to continue to do. I know me and so many others are feeling this, it’s cruel that the world doesn’t stop when terrible things happen even when we desperately beg for it to,” Krull posted Monday afternoon to X, two days after Pierce and her three children died. “The world keeps moving even when we feel like we can’t. All we can do is continue to try to move forward the best we can. My heart hurts for everyone today just doing their best to make it through the day.
“But for as long as I can, I’ll keep my Monday podcast record notifications on because it reminds me of how much special time I was able to share with Jessi weekly.”
Jessi Pierce (l) and Kirsten Krull (r) during their last podcast. @bardownbeautiespodcast/YouTube
Krull and the NHL community have been mourning and telling warm stories about Pierce since the tragic fire in White Bear Lake, Minn. on Saturday that killed her and her children, Cayden, Hudson and Avery.
Pierce covered the Wild for NHL.com for the last 10 seasons, along with other NHL reporting experience.
The “Bardown Beauties” podcast she co-hosted with Krull has videos dating back six years and “provides an entertaining, light-hearted deep dive into the Minnesota Wild, while also touching on the NHL at large, the Minnesota Frost of the PWHL and more,” according to their YouTube page.
Spending that much time together both at the rink and behind a mic led to a close relationship in which Krull described the 37-year-old Piece “like another big sister to me.”
Krull posted Sunday a link to a GoFundMe page to help support Pierce’s husband, Mike Hinrichs, that has raised over $204,000, as of Wednesday morning.
“She had an unmatched work ethic and a huge heart. Any time I needed help, needed to rant, or needed someone she was there without hesitation,” Krull wrote. “Most importantly, she was the best mom and loved her kids and family fiercely. She brought me into her world and introduced me to her family and friends and I’m so grateful she did. Hudson, Cayden and Avery were the best kids and I’m so grateful she let me be part of their lives. The visits on game days, being able to come to their house and hang out with the family are memories I cherish. There’s not enough pictures, videos, memories I can share in one post. There’s so much more I want to say that I can’t find the words for yet.
“I hope you know how loved you are and could see the outpouring of love for you and your family from the hockey community today. I hope you know how much I love you and how missed you will be. Thank you for everything.”
Jessi Pierce and her three children. Jessi Pierce/X
Pierce and her three children — ages 4, 6 and 8, per The Minneapolis Star Tribune -— died Saturday morning after a fire broke out at their home.
Police said they received a call Saturday morning from neighbors at 5:26 a.m. after a fire broke out, and the White Bear Lake fire department has ruled out arson at this point.
“We are in the very early stages of the investigation, and our preliminary findings have not led to the any evidence that the fire was set intentionally,” the department wrote in a release Monday. “Our priorities are, first and foremost, being present for those directly affected by this tragedy, conducting a thorough investigation, and ensuring our first responders involved in this incident heal alongside the community.”
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