OUTER BANKS, N.C. — An Outer Banks community is picking up the pieces after a fire tore through a vacation rental home, killing three people and injuring three others.
A spokesperson said the property was built in 1948, meaning it would have been required to have working smoke detectors, but not sprinklers. That detail remains under investigation.
In the wake of the fire, rental property owners about how they help keep their homes safe.
Tim Cafferty in Kill Devil Hills owns a rental home that sits six houses down from the house that tragically caught fire.
"We manage many properties. One of them happens to be one I own just a few properties away," Cafferty said. "It’s a tragic day for all of us and you just wonder why?"
Cafferty owns Outer Banks Blue and Sandbridge Blue which manage more than 200 vacation rental properties.
He says it’s vital for all detectors to be checked.
"In North Carolina, there is a statute that requires them to be checked at least annually. We check them weekly," Cafferty said.
Brandon Beavers, an AirBnB host at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront says he does annual inspections and checks his carbon monoxide detectors frequently.
"The smoke detectors have to be in certain places out and accessible. They can’t be under the cabinet," Beavers said.
Beavers owns this vacation rental home and rents it out through Airbnb. He says he uses an app on his phone to monitor the detectors.
"It sends me a message when the smoke alarm goes off. So I get an alert on my phone to make sure everything’s good [or] if the guests are just cooking and the alarm went off," Beavers said.
Beavers says he has to do an annual inspection on his home to keep his rental property permit in the City of Virginia Beach.
Cafferty makes sure his guests know how to get out if there's an emergency.
"Making sure they know where the exits are, what’s the safest way out of the property and it’s not always the front door. Making sure that’s communicated is the clearest thing to do when guests come to the property," Cafferty said.
