What to Know
- Two sisters, ages 19 and 21, died when a fire tore through the home their family rented for summer vacation in the Hamptons, authorities say.
- Their parents and brother managed to escape when flames broke out around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
- The family is from Potomac, Maryland.
Two sisters from Potomac, Maryland, died when a raging fire engulfed the Hamptons vacation home their family was renting for the summer, authorities in New York say.
Jillian Wiener, 21, and Lindsay Wiener, 19, were sleeping upstairs at the house on Spring Lane in Noyack, on Long Island's South Fork, when flames broke out around 3:30 a.m., the Southampton Town Police Department said.
Their father, 60-year-old Lewis Wiener, woke up to the sound of breaking glass and tried to warn the family to get out of the house. He and his wife, 52-year-old Alisa Wiener, managed to escape. Their 23-year-old son, Zachary, also managed to escape the fire from a second-story window, police said, but the daughters did not.
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At one point, Lewis Wiener tried to go back inside the house, but the flames were too intense.
Firefighters from five communities ultimately responded to extinguish the fire.
They found the two young women once the flames were gone. Medics took them to a hospital and performed CPR on them, but they died from their injuries.
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The parents and their son were treated for injuries described to be non-life-threatening, Suffolk County police said.
Police said the family had rented the home for the summer.
"My heart is just full of sadness hearing this news," Goli Azhdam, a friend and neighbor of the family, told News4. "I knew them since they were born and it's truly shocking. Truly, extremely sad news."
Jillian and Lindsay Wiener were graduates of the Holton-Arms School, an all-girls private school in Bethesda, Maryland.
In a statement, the school said Jillian played soccer and ice hockey in school, and her passions were yoga and raising awareness and funds for families whose children have cancer. Lindsay was dedicated to service, served as the president of the Jewish Culture Club and was a "bright spirit and a leader," the school said.
"As much of the Holton community can attest, the sisters were warm, engaged members of the Holton community who positively impacted both their classes and the larger school community," the school said.
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, Holton-Arms said.
"We had an elderly couple in that house across from them. They would shovel their snow. They would shovel ours, even.
Very kind. Very … close-knit," Azhdam said.
Lewis Wiener is the president of the Washington Hebrew Congregation in D.C.
"The world has lost two beautiful lights today, and the Washington Hebrew Congregation community is heartbroken. Through their leadership and service, acts of kindness, and friendship, the Wiener family -- Lewis, Alisa, Zach, Jillian, and Lindsay – has touched so many lives at Washington Hebrew," the congregation said in a statement. "It was just two months ago that we came together as a community to celebrate with the Wieners when Lew was installed as our Congregation’s president. Now, as a community, we will again come together to support and lift up Lew, Alisa, and Zach in every way possible."
Authorities said an ongoing water emergency in the area did not impact the response.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
