A pair of sisters from Maryland were killed when a massive fire engulfed the Southampton vacation home their family had rented as a summer getaway, police said.
Jillian Wiener, 21, and Lindsay Wiener, 19, were asleep in a second-floor bedroom when the blaze broke out inside the residence in Noyack, on Long Island's South Fork, overnight Wednesday, according to WUSA. Their 60-year-old father, Lewis Wiener was startled awake by the sound of glass breaking around 3:30 a.m. and immediately tried to warn his family of the danger.
Lewis and his wife, 52-year-old Alisa Wiener, both of who were sleeping on the first floor when the fire started, were able to flee the home. Their 23-year-old son, Zachary Wiener, also escaped by jumping through a second-story window, Southampton Town police Lt. Susan Ralph told the East Hampton Star.
When Lewis realized his daughters were still inside the burning rental, he attempted to rescue them, "but the flames prevented him from gaining access," Ralph added.
Firefighters from North Sea, Southampton, East Hampton, Bridgehampton, and Sag Harbor all responded to the scene and managed to locate the sisters. They were rushed to the hospital by ambulance, but both women ultimately succumbed to their injuries despite efforts to revive them.
Their neighbors said the family decided to take a small vacation to the area before their children returned to college for the upcoming school year. Jillian would have been a senior at the University of Michigan while Lindsay was set to return to Tulane University as a sophomore.
They were also alumna of Holton-Arms School for Girls in Bethesda, with Jillian graduating in 2019 and Lindsay in 2021.
The school remembered the pair as "warm, engaged members of the Holton community who positively impacted both their classes and the larger community," according to a statement obtained by WTOP.
The three surviving family members suffered non-life-threatening injuries from smoke inhalation and were being treated at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.
As of Thursday, the cause of the fire remained unclear.