'Brokenhearted' Family Sues After Death Of 2 Daughters In LI Fire

NOYAC, NY — The family of two young women who died in a horrific Noyac fire in August has filed a lawsuit against the owners of the illegal vacation property, as well as two online rental companies, stating that a lack of functioning smoke alarms led to the tragedy.

According to a complaint filed on Nov. 15 in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, the fire Aug. 3 caused the deaths of Jillian Wiener, 21, and Lindsay Wiener, 19. The lawsuit was filed by Melville attorney Andres Alonso of Alonso Krangle LLP and Martin Grossman of the New York-based law office of Robert A. Cardali, P.C. against the owner of the home on Spring Lane, Pamela and Peter Miller, 3 Spring Lane LLC, and Homeaway.com Inc., and VRBO Holdings, Inc.

"They were two shining lights who brought joy to everyone they encountered," the suit said. "Their loss cannot be measured. . . The Wiener family is left with a nightmare from which they cannot wake."

The girls' parents, Alisa and Lew Wiener are "brokenhearted," the suit said; their brother Zachary is "haunted by their loss and the notion that the girls could not be saved."

According to the suit, the rental home was unsafe, with no working fire alarms, smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors — and an outdoor kitchen, which had not been inspected, was not properly wired, and which was not compliant, that had been installed by the Millers.

The home did not have the required rental permit, town officials told Patch after the blaze.

The complaint includes a copy of the VRBO reservation, which states the home had a fire extinguisher, smoke detectors outside each bedroom door and in each bedroom, and carbon monoxide detectors outside each bedroom door and inside each bedroom.

Those representations, the suit said, "were false. . .the representations were particularly dangerous in that in some instances, there were what appeared to be smoke, or carbon monoxide detectors. . .lulling plaintiffs into a false sense of security. In fact, these 'alarms' were nothing more than the worthless carcasses of non-functioning alarms that had no power, had been disconnected, had their batteries removed, or were left with useless, lifeless batteries."

Had the Wiener family been informed, they would have not risked their daughters' lives by staying at the home, the suit said.

The Wiener family was "destroyed," the complaint states. "Two young women will never have the chance to fully realize their great promise and left Alisa, Lew and Zach Wiener fractured in ways that can never be mended."

A spokesperson for VRBO did not respond to a request for comment. Edward Burke, Jr., attorney for the Millers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Andy Alonso, attorney for the Wiener family, wrote a letter to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney in early October, demanding answers as to why the office hadn't investigated the fire.

"The DA's homicide bureau is investigating this tragic fire," a representative for Tierney said Thursday. "However, we can't comment further since this is an ongoing investigation."

In August, Ryan Murphy, public safety and emergency management administrator for Southampton Town, said the investigation had honed in on an area in the home.

"The focus of the investigation is to try to determine the cause and origin of the fire," he said. "This far, the investigation seems to indicate that the outdoor kitchen area is the most likely origin of the fire."

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

Lewis Wiener, 60, his wife Alisa, 52, and his son Zachary, 23, as well as his daughters, were vacationing from Potomac, Maryland, Southampton Town Police have said. The children slept on the second floor, and the parents slept on the first floor. Lewis Wiener awoke to the sound of glass breaking around 3:35 a.m. 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. Flames prevented him from getting back inside, police said. The couple's son Zachary escaped out of a second-story window, police said.

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

The town issued 29 violations each to Pamela and Peter Miller as a result of conditions identified during the investigation, Murphy said. The Wieners' attorney maintained those issues included smoke detectors that had no batteries or were disconnected.

"The property owners are currently in court still on those charges. I cannot speak to matters currently under litigation," Murphy said.

Burke, Jr., attorney for the Millers, told Patch in a prior interview: "It is impossible to put into words the magnitude of this tragedy nor describe the devastation. But the one thing I can say is that the Millers did not tamper or alter fire alarms or electrical wiring within this house, for this house was their home."

Burke didn't comment on whether the kitchen was up to code, or on questions about whether the Millers had insurance, responding: "Nothing further at this time."

In his letter, Alonso said Lew Wiener, when awoken Aug. 3 by the sound of breaking glass, was "confronted with a wall of flame coming from the outdoor kitchen located on the deck connected to the home." Wiener suffered burns trying to rescue his daughters, while his wife suffered smoke inhalation, the letter said. Their son was also burned.

"These promising young women were robbed of their lives, which held so much promise," the letter said.

In the weeks since the fire, thousands have reached out to support the Wiener family during their darkest hour. Lew Wiener, speaking with Patch, described his girls and the many lives they touched.

Murphy told Patch in August that while the home was rented for the vacation, there was no rental permit on file for the home, and therefore, the property was not inspected. He also said he believes there was "a violation on record from the building department," but did not specify what that violation was.

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

However, firefighters at the scene did not recall hearing the fire alarms going off, he said.
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," he said.

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."