Heartbreaking details emerge of how NHL reporter Jessi Pierce and three kids were found after deadly house fire
NHL reporter Jessi Pierce and her three children were found together in the living area of their house after it was engulfed by a deadly blaze last weekend, it has been revealed.
Pierce, 38, and kids Hudson, 8, Cayden, 6, and Avery, 4, were killed by the devastating fire that broke out at their home in White Bear Lake, Minnesota early Saturday morning.
An investigation to determine the cause of the fire is now underway, with the White Bear Lake Fire Department’s preliminary findings indicating there is no evidence that it was started intentionally.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, a court filing made by the city’s Police Department noted that the inferno was so overwhelming that officers and firefighters were initially prevented from getting inside to rescue any potential survivors.
Upon arrival officers said they could see ‘flames shooting up dozens of feet in the air’ from adjacent streets. They arrived to find the home ‘fully engulfed with flames erupting from the center of the dwelling.’
Firefighters also encountered ‘intense flames as they tried to breach the front door to begin firefighting and rescue attempts, which prevented their initial entry into the dwelling.’
NHL reporter Jessi Pierce and her three children were found together after a deadly fire engulfed their home in Minnesota
The 38-year-old Pierce, whose legal name was Jessi Hinrichs, and kids Hudson, 8, Cayden, 6, and Avery, 4, were killed in a devastating blaze last weekend
Once the blaze was contained, police and fire personnel found Pierce – whose legal name was Jessi Hinrichs – and her children all in the main living area at the front of the address near the entryway. A deceased dog was also discovered.
Police are also said to have reached out to Jessi’s husband and the children’s father, Mike Hinrichs, by phone. Hinrichs said he was about to board a plane for his return to Minnesota.
Investigators have cast a wide net in their pursuit of what started the house fire despite ruling out arson as a possibility.
An array of items they want to examine were listed in their search warrant affidavit, such as flammables, candles, electrical wiring, battery-operated devices, heating devices, household appliances, any altered natural gas piping and vehicles on the property at the time.
Autopsy results for Pierce and the children are pending the findings of toxicology results.
Next-door neighbor Julie Andrus, who has lived next to the family for seven years, said: ‘We were sleeping. By the time the cops woke us, it was like a tornado of smoke.’
The hockey world is in mourning after the loss of beloved reporter Pierce and her children, with tributes pouring in over the past week.
Mike Hinrichs, Jessi’s surviving husband and the children’s father, received a call from police
Tributes have poured in for Pierce her kids, including from podcast co-host Kirsten Krull (right)
Speaking to the Daily Mail on Wednesday, her close friend and podcast co-host Kirsten Krull said: ‘I feel like the last few days have been a nightmare. I lost not only somebody who I considered a big sister, but her three little kids and her dog too.
‘She always told me how protective her dog was of those kids, she said that her dog thought those were her babies. So to lose all of that in an instant, it’s just tragic.’
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Mike in his time of need and provide financial support for funeral costs. As of Friday morning, the fundraiser has brought in over $220,000 and is targeting a total of $250k.
‘Mike is gonna need all the support moving forward, so to see all of the people wanting to support him is incredible,’ Krull added.
‘He was an amazing husband, an amazing father. He is amazing. And it just breaks my heart knowing that he’s dealing with the worst thing that could have happened to him right now.’
