He had a hard, violent, crazy life growing up but somehow had remained one of the most accepting, gentle, beautiful people I've ever known. He used to talk about what we'd do together when we were both old men, still hanging out in coffee shops together. He had no doubts we'd be connected for the rest of our lives. He wrote poetry, talked about this close friends with an unshakable fierceness, shared his heart easily.
I can't imagine dying the way he did. He was in his bed when the fire started but they found him by the apartment office, so he had been trying to make his way out but with limited sight I just imagine the panic and torture of it. I hope he found some peace with death in those last moments, I hope more than anything he didn't feel alone there, that he remembered all the beauty in his life and found grace somehow.
The last time I saw him, I took him and his girlfriend out for lunch at Hells Kitchen. They talked for an hour and a half about everything they had going on. Clearly they were happy together and saw something special in each other. He was happy and with someone who loved him, I'm glad that is the way I can remember him. He's the third close friend I've had die in the last few years, Jake, Chris, and now Arthur. Their lives all left an indelible mark on me, they are amazing to me, I miss them so much.
The article from the Shakopee Valley News, Monday, March 17, 2008
Man who died from apartment fire was legally blind, had infant son
A 26-year-old man who was rescued from his burning apartment in Shakopee early Monday morning has died.
Unconscious when firefighters carried him from the building, Arthur Hussey was airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, where he was later taken off life support and died at 6:24 a.m. Tuesday.
Hussey’s fiancée, Jessica Sobotta, was able to make it out of the four-unit complex, as did a pair of upper-level tenants. She was treated and released from St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, along with a mother and daughter who lived in the other downstairs apartment. They had to be rescued through a window because the common stairwell was too hot and filled with smoke and gas fumes. A resident who lived in the fourth unit wasn’t home at the time.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the state fire marshal.
Emergency responders were called to the building, which is at 2077 12th Ave. W., about 2:15 a.m. Monday, apparently by a man who lived on the second floor.
Sobotta, who appears to have been sleeping in the living room, separately from Hussey, vaguely remembers somebody yelling there was a fire and to get out. Once she made it outside, she realized Hussey wasn’t with her. Police restrained her from rushing back in after him, Sobotta’s mother Dawn said she was told by police.
It’s unclear who woke Sobotta.
As firefighters arrived, police were pulling a girl out of the other lower-level unit.
"We ended up going in and getting the mother out of that apartment," Fire Chief Ed Schwaesdall said.
Investigators told Dawn Sobotta that the upstairs tenant was awake at the time of the fire and he heard something slam, causing him to look into the entryway and see smoke billowing from her daughter's apartment. The man called 911 about 2:15 a.m.
Hussey had been sleeping in the bedroom, but firefighters found him at the entrance of an office in the apartment, Dawn Sobotta said she was also told.
Home video from a neighbor shows flames shooting out the windows of the couple’s lower level apartment as Shakopee firefighters and police scurried about the scene.
Rescue efforts were too late to save Hussey, who died from smoke inhalation and burns, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Hussey, who had a 10-month-old son, Arthur Jr., from a previous relationship, lived in Minneapolis with his friend Stephen Streeter before moving in with Sobotta a few months ago. The couple would often spend the weekends in Minneapolis.
Hussey grew up in Indiana and moved to the Twin Cities about 10 years ago, Streeter said. He worked for a chrome-plating company in northeast Minneapolis until his failing sight forced him to quit two years ago.
He inherited a genetic eye condition and his sight started deteriorating when he was about 22, Streeter said.
Despite being legally blind, Hussey was always there for anybody who needed him, said Streeter, who was a fatherly figure to Hussey.
"He had a big heart," Streeter said. "He was a pretty giving person."
Sobotta, who has struggled to eat and sleep since the night of the fire, considered Hussey her soul-mate.
She said he was free-spirited person, probably the most open-minded man she’s ever known, and very loyal to those he loved.
"He really loved life even though we all have our problems," she said. "I just really miss him very much."
Streeter said Hussey was a fan of rap music, and enjoyed the Minnesota outdoors, fishing and doing stunts on his trick bike.
"He was making the transition from being a sighted to legally blind person pretty good," Streeter said.
"We ended up going in and getting the mother out of that apartment," Fire Chief Ed Schwaesdall said.
Investigators told Dawn Sobotta that the upstairs tenant was awake at the time of the fire and he heard something slam, causing him to look into the entryway and see smoke billowing from her daughter's apartment. The man called 911 about 2:15 a.m.
Hussey had been sleeping in the bedroom, but firefighters found him at the entrance of an office in the apartment, Dawn Sobotta said she was also told.
Home video from a neighbor shows flames shooting out the windows of the couple’s lower level apartment as Shakopee firefighters and police scurried about the scene.
Rescue efforts were too late to save Hussey, who died from smoke inhalation and burns, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Hussey, who had a 10-month-old son, Arthur Jr., from a previous relationship, lived in Minneapolis with his friend Stephen Streeter before moving in with Sobotta a few months ago. The couple would often spend the weekends in Minneapolis.
Hussey grew up in Indiana and moved to the Twin Cities about 10 years ago, Streeter said. He worked for a chrome-plating company in northeast Minneapolis until his failing sight forced him to quit two years ago.
He inherited a genetic eye condition and his sight started deteriorating when he was about 22, Streeter said.
Despite being legally blind, Hussey was always there for anybody who needed him, said Streeter, who was a fatherly figure to Hussey.
"He had a big heart," Streeter said. "He was a pretty giving person."
Sobotta, who has struggled to eat and sleep since the night of the fire, considered Hussey her soul-mate.
She said he was free-spirited person, probably the most open-minded man she’s ever known, and very loyal to those he loved.
"He really loved life even though we all have our problems," she said. "I just really miss him very much."
Streeter said Hussey was a fan of rap music, and enjoyed the Minnesota outdoors, fishing and doing stunts on his trick bike.
"He was making the transition from being a sighted to legally blind person pretty good," Streeter said.
