Hilton Head tourists sue rental company for defective alarms after fatal 2022 house fire

Evan McKenna

Nearly two years after a raging fire in a Hilton Head short-term rental killed one tourist and critically injured another, the survivors and family of the deceased have brought forward claims of negligence against the property owners and the luxury rental company responsible for the home’s upkeep. Two recently filed lawsuits allege the residence’s smoke alarms never went off, leaving the occupants with little to no time to evacuate.

Six visitors were inside when flames engulfed the house at 1 Dinghy Lane the morning of Sept. 9, 2022, including Amy and Michael Widicus, the plaintiffs of the personal injury lawsuit brought forward May 20. Three people evacuated the house on their own and two were rescued by firefighters. Missouri man Robert Carpenter, 65, died of smoke inhalation before he could escape. His widow, Susan Carpenter, filed a near-identical wrongful death lawsuit in March.

Named as defendants in both suits are Dinghy Lane landowners Michael and Anne Donohue — a husband and wife from Alexandria, Virginia — and the luxury vacation company Inspirato, which leases properties from homeowners and re-lets them to subscribers of the “Inspirato Club.”

Both lawsuits are pending in Beaufort County civil court. Requests for comment sent Tuesday via email to the Donohues, Inpsirato and the Charleston-based McLeod Law Group, which represents the plaintiffs in both cases, were not returned by Wednesday afternoon.

The S.C. Law Enforcement Division, who investigated the incident, did not respond to questions sent Tuesday about how the fire started and other conclusions to the investigation.

The three-story home in Hilton Head’s Palmetto Dunes resort caught fire around 3 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2022.
The three-story home in Hilton Head’s Palmetto Dunes resort caught fire around 3 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2022.

Tourists wake to ‘a house in flames’

Located in the Palmetto Dunes resort community, the 4,900-square foot home at 1 Dinghy Lane was built in 2003 and purchased by the Donohues for $2.23 million in 2012, according to Beaufort County property records. Court documents say the couple then registered the property with Inspirato, which nicknamed the rental “Switchgrass” in its website marketing.

The six friends staying at the rental were coworkers who had taken a group trip to Hilton Head. They rented the three-story, six-bedroom home through Inspirato.

Around 3 a.m. on Sept. 9, one man “woke to a house in flames.” He ran through the hallways and pounded on bedroom doors, attempting to wake up the others. As he exited with two more occupants, “the windows blew out in the kitchen, filling the house with smoke and fanning the flames,” according to the court summons.

Beaufort County deputies and crews from Hilton Head Fire Rescue remained on the scene of a deadly house fire at 1 Dinghy Lane until after 12 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2022.
Beaufort County deputies and crews from Hilton Head Fire Rescue remained on the scene of a deadly house fire at 1 Dinghy Lane until after 12 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2022.

Crews from Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue rescued two other guests from the home, including one man who had climbed out of his bedroom window onto the roof. Another woman passed out from smoke inhalation while trying to open her window but was rescued by firefighters, who performed CPR to resuscitate her. She was taken to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia, with severe burns over 10% of her body and “significant injuries from smoke inhalation,” the court filing says.

Carpenter, who was staying on the home’s top floor, was heard screaming for help before falling silent mid-sentence. Authorities later found the 65-year-old man’s body in the central hallway of the house.

An autopsy determined Carpenter died of smoke inhalation. A longtime accountant and avid golfer, his recent retirement was what prompted the group’s celebratory vacation to Hilton Head.

None of the house fire’s survivors recalled hearing fire alarms as they evacuated, according to the court summons. They only heard a “faint beeping sound” coming from the kitchen.

Based in Denver, Colorado, the vacation rental company Inspirato calls itself the “world’s first luxury travel subscription.” With plans ranging from $350 to $2,550 per month, members can book stays at high-end destinations around the globe, including seven properties on Hilton Head Island.
Based in Denver, Colorado, the vacation rental company Inspirato calls itself the “world’s first luxury travel subscription.” With plans ranging from $350 to $2,550 per month, members can book stays at high-end destinations around the globe, including seven properties on Hilton Head Island.

Both lawsuits allege Inspirato and the homeowners were negligent in not properly maintaining the rental’s alarm system, leading to one death and serious injuries after the vacationers had mere minutes to escape the flames.

The Town of Hilton Head Island requires functional smoke alarms in all short-term rental properties, although the number depends on the amount of sleeping areas in each residence. In a now-removed webpage posted to Facebook in 2018, Inspirato claimed that smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers in their rentals are all checked “during a pre-arrival inspection process.”

A house fire at 1 Dinghy Lane on Sept. 9, 2022 came close to completely destroying the Hilton Head home, which was occupied by six tourists at the time. One man was killed while another woman required treatment and multiple surgeries for severe burns.
A house fire at 1 Dinghy Lane on Sept. 9, 2022 came close to completely destroying the Hilton Head home, which was occupied by six tourists at the time. One man was killed while another woman required treatment and multiple surgeries for severe burns.

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