LI Fire That Killed 2 Sisters Likely Started In Outdoor Kitchen: Town

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — The investigation continues into a tragic fire earlier in August that took the lives of two sisters from Maryland who were vacationing in the Hamptons with their family.

Jillian Wiener, 21, and Lindsay Wiener, 19, died in the blaze.

On Thursday, Ryan Murphy, public safety and emergency management administrator for Southampton Town, said that the investigation has honed in on one 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."

No further information was immediately available.

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.

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.

While one side of the home had boarded windows hours after the fire, the deck area showed significant damage.

Murphy 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."

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."

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."

According to Southampton Town Police, on Aug. 3 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 outside, 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 FireDepartments 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.