Owners of Long Island House Where MD Sisters Died Charged

On Aug. 3, two Maryland sisters were killed in a Long Island house fire while on a family vacation with their parents and brother.

Peter and Pamela Miller, the couple who own the house, have been charged with multiple code violations in Southampton Town Justice Court, The East Hampton Star reported.

Among the violations were failing to maintain smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. 

Lewis Wiener awakened to the sound of breaking glass about 3:30 a.m. and alerted the family to get out. After he and his wife, Alisa, escaped, they realized their children were still inside.

Wiener tried to reenter the house, but flames prevented him from going inside. Zachary Wiener, 23, jumped from a second-floor window to escape the fire. However, his sisters, Jillian, 21 and Lindsay, 19, were trapped.

Firefighters found the women and transported them to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Jillian was headed into her senior year at the University of Michigan and Lindsay was set to return to Tulane for her sophomore year this fall. The family was from Potomac, MD and very active in the community. 

Each of the homeowners was charged with 29 violations, the paper reported, adding that they were arraigned last week.

While the cause of the fire has not been completed, local officials told reporters it may have started in an outdoor kitchen which had been constructed without permits.

The charges also include “occupying a premise in a manner contrary to the certificate of occupancy, failure to maintain smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, failure to abate electrical hazards, and multiple charges relating to construction without permits, including but not limited to installation of an outdoor kitchen with connected utilities.” the paper reported quoting Sean Cambridge, an attorney representing Southampton Town.

The couple also didn't have a permit to rent the house, according to published reports.