'No Rental Permit' In Home Where 2 Sisters Died In LI Fire: Town

NOYAC, NY — What was meant to be an idyllic summer getaway in the Hamptons turned tragic Wednesday: Police have identified two sisters who died in an early morning house fire while vacationing in Noyac as Jillian Wiener, 21, and Lindsay Wiener, 19.

Southampton Town officials told Patch the home had no valid rental permit, meaning that there had been no inspection of the property to ensure safety.

According to Southampton Town Police, Lewis Wiener, 60, his wife Alisa, 52, and his son Zachary, 23, as well as his daughters, were vacationing from Potomac, Maryland. The children were sleeping on the second floor, and the parents were sleeping on the first floor; Lewis Weiner awakened to the sound of glass breaking and screamed for his family to get out, police said.

He and his wife escaped the burning home, police said. When they realized the children hadn’t exited the house, Wiener tried desperately to gain entry back in; however, the flames prevented him from gaining access, police said. The couple's son Zachary had escaped out of a second-story window, police said.

"Tragically the two daughters were unable to escape," police said.

On Wednesday, while one side of the home had boarded windows, the deck area showed significant damage after the blaze.

Ryan Murphy, public safety and emergency management administrator for Southampton Town, told Patch that while the home was rented for the vacation, there was no rental permit on file for the home and therefore, the property had not been inspected. He also said he believes there is "a violation on record from the building department," but did not specify what that violation was.

The homeowners could not immediately be reached for comment.

Murphy said he did not know how the rental was being conducted. "I don't know how they engaged that rental," he said.

He added that, to the best of his knowledge, and based on the town's investigation, there were smoke detectors in the house, but he was unable to say "if they were operational. I can't speak to that."

Murphy said property owners "will be held accountable for renting without the benefit of a permit."

Murphy said town officials work diligently to make sure the town's rental code is enforced but with the proliferation of home-sharing sites, "it's a bit like whack a mole. We might take one of these and bring it into compliance and then two pop up. It's a never-ending search."

Of the fire, Murphy said, "It's a tragic situation. Had there been a rental permit on the property, perhaps additional safety standards might have been in place that could have made this preventable. But," he added, "you can do everything right and still have an accident. It's just nice to be able to say you checked all the boxes."

Lewis Wiener serves as president of the Washington Hebrew Congregation, according to the temple's website.

Both girls graduated from the Holton-Arms School for Girls in Bethesda, Maryland, the school said in a statement. Holton-Arms school head Susanna A. Jones said Jillian was a soccer and ice hockey player, artist, yoga instructor and raised funds for children's cancer; Lindsay was president of the Community Service Club and the Jewish Culture Club, the letter said.

Jillian was to be a senior at the University of Michigan, while Lindsay would have been a sophomore at Tulane.

According to Southampton Town Police, at 3:35 a.m. a call came in about a fire at an occupied Noyac home on Spring Lane.

Patrol officers found the residence fully engulfed with the Wiener and their son, who had escaped the blaze, police said. The girls were unaccounted for and believed to be inside the home, police said.

Fire personnel found the girls inside the home; they were transported by ambulance to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, police said. Although CPR was performed, the girls died, police said.

The other three family members were transported with non-life threatening injuries to the hospital, police said.

North Sea, Southampton, East Hampton, Bridgehampton, and Sag Harbor Volunteer Fire
Departments responded to extinguish the fire; Southampton Village, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor and Amagansett ambulance crews also helped with transports.

The Southampton Town Police Department's detective division and fire marshal, as well as the Suffolk County arson squad, responded to determine the cause of the fire, police said.

(A previous version of this story said the girls were both teenagers; police updated their report with the girls' correct ages.)