How safe are the island's beach rental properties from fire?

Two dramatic and deadly fires in Charleston and Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., over the past few months could lead to calls for increased fire safety controls and sprinkler requirements for more properties, safety officials say.
Sprinklers are not required in seaside vacation rental homes across the state, including thousands on Hilton Head Island. But some fire experts think they should be.
Questions about fire safety in those structures are popping up after six University of South Carolina and one Clemson student died early Sunday when the Ocean Isle Beach home they were staying in erupted in flames. Six other students escaped the house.
Coupled with the June blaze that consumed a Charleston furniture store and killed nine firefighters, state lawmakers and public safety officials are expected to take a closer look at fire protection requirements, including which structures should use sprinkler systems to help snuff out fires before they get out of hand.
Rental properties on the coast are of particular concern since they often cater to younger crowds and are in places where an ocean breeze can easily spread a blaze.
"Every structure should be 'sprinklered,'" said Tom Barstow, fire chief in North Myrtle Beach, where hundreds of rental cottages line the seashore and marshes. "They are 95 percent effective in controlling or extinguishing a fire prior to the fire department's arrival."
On Hilton Head, only large buildings -- those bigger than 10,000 square feet -- are required to have sprinkler systems, Fire Chief Tom Fieldstead said.
The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce estimates the island has 6,000 vacation homes and villas -- buildings that are constructed like the one in Ocean Isle Beach that burned last weekend, Fieldstead said.
"It's not something that most designers will design into the building unless it's a requirement," Fieldstead said. He said he expects a statewide conversation about those requirements to begin soon.
"There will beginsome push from a state standpoint, I believe, to require sprinklers in a greater number of structures ... ," he said.

In California, 80 cities and counties require sprinkler systems for new private homes, said Steve Hart, former deputy director of the California fire marshal's office. Maryland is also considering a statewide rule for sprinklers on new homes, said Russ Fleming, executive vice president of the National Fire Sprinkler Association, a trade group.
Sprinklers would be especially helpful in the event of a fire in a big beach house, said Matt Davis, president of the N.C. County Fire Marshal's Association and deputy fire chief for New Hanover County, home to Wrightsville Beach.
Such houses are most often built of wood and close to their neighbors in a place where the wind blows almost constantly -- all factors that accelerate the spread of fire. In addition, they're often occupied by renters unfamiliar with the house's layout and who, when awakened by fire, will be disoriented and less likely to find a way out.
Butch Womack, president of the Executive Committee of the South Carolina State Fire Fighters Association, said he also expects a statewide debate on the topic, but he hopes officials don't overcompensate by adding unnecessary regulations.
"I think there will be some more pressure," he said. "I just hope that we're able to take one step at a time to make sure we adequately address the issue rather than just rush in ..."
Other options beyond requiring sprinklers may be better, such as conducting another statewide smoke detector campaign or requiring more fire exits, said Womack, also the fire chief for the town of Easley.
State law already requires owners of all rental homes to install and maintain smoke detectors. But Womack said that law is rarely enforced.
While retrofitting beach houses would surely lead to a political fight, experts say it's at least worth considering sprinklers for new single-family houses, whether they are beach rentals or private residences.
That could cost anywhere from $1.50 to $2 per square foot on a new home, estimated Hart, the former deputy director of the California fire marshal's office.
Under that calculation, someone building a 5,000-square-foot house could expect to pay an additional $7,500 to $10,000 for a sprinkler system.
Retrofitting a home would cost slightly more, he said. Beach houses in South Carolina typically sell for $1 million or more. Experts told The (Raleigh) News & Observer the cost of a sprinkler system is about 1 percent of a new home.
Many Hilton Head rental vacation owners avoid renting to college students to protect their properties, said Ray Moloney, president and owner of Beach Properties of Hilton Head, which manages 260 properties. But if owners were required to install sprinkler systems, some may decide to pull their properties off the market, he said.
"If that was a requirement, some may decide not to rent it," he said. "I would think some of the property owners would probably opt not to go for that expense."
The (Columbia) State and (Raleigh) News and Observer contributed to this story.

Southern California Open for Business

Southern California's tourism destinationsare up and running and ready for visitors. As the recent wildfires nearcontainment, the state's attractions are spreading the word that they're openfor business. "Southern California is known worldwide as an ideal vacation destination,and I'm happy to report that it remains a wonderful and safe place to visit,"said Executive Director Caroline Beteta of the California Travel and TourismCommission (CTTC). "The wildfires did not affect the majority of the state'spopular attractions, and we encourage travelers to experience firsthand theadventures that await throughout California." In San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Orange Counties fires werecontained to outlying areas and the regions' tourism destinations were notaffected by fire. In addition, areas of San Bernardino National Forestincluding Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead are open and ready for guests. Whilesome attractions closed briefly to provide employees with time to handlepersonal matters, all are now open and operating as scheduled. Hotels in theseregions are also welcoming guests, and meeting venues continue hosting eventsas planned. Visitors traveling to Southern California will find all of the region'smajor airports fully-functioning and main highways open for drivers. Access tosome San Bernardino County destinations was hindered during the wildfires, butall major roads have now reopened. CTTC advises that visitors traveling toSouthern California contact their specific destination with questionspertaining to the wildfires, and more information can be found onvisitcalifornia.com. For a glimpse of Southern California's splendor as it stands today,travelers can log on to visitcalifornia.com to view post-wildfire photos ofthe area's most popular destinations. Southern California residents are alsoinvited to entice visitors by submitting their own real time pictures of theirfavorite hometown attractions. To view or submit photos, please visitsocalfires.visitcalifornia.com.

"Whether you're looking for roller coasters, pristine beaches, excitingnightlife or a mountain getaway, Southern California continues to offersomething for every traveler," said Beteta. "If you're in the mood for agetaway, Southern California is open for business and waiting for you."

The CTTC is a non-profit organization with a mission to develop andmaintain marketing programs - in partnership with the state's travel industry- that keep California top-of-mind as a premier travel destination. Accordingto the CTTC, travel and tourism expenditures total $93.8 billion annually inCalifornia, support jobs for 929,000 Californians and generate $5.6 billion instate and local tax revenues. For more information about the CTTC and for afree California vacation packet, go to www.visitcalifornia.com.

Officials mull charges against boy setting California fire

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 31 -- Prosecutors in California Wednesday were mulling over whether to file charges against a 10-year-old boy who admitted that he started a fire last week that destroyed more than 20 homes near Los Angeles.
Fire officials said it was unlikely that the boy would face criminal charges, but his parents could possibly be held civilly liable for the damage.
The boy, who has not been named by authorities, told investigators that he was playing with matches when he set fire to dry brush on Oct. 21, when strong desert winds fueled various wildfires throughout the region.
It was unclear whether the boy's parents, who help care for horses on a rural ranch, can afford to pay even a fraction of the damage the fire caused, according to a Los Angeles Times website report.
The blaze was among more than 20 devastating wildfires that destroyed about 1,800 homes and forced the evacuation of more than half a million people at one time across Southern California last week.
Authorities have said that at least two of the fires were started intentionally and vowed to bring any arsonists to justice.
Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, said prosecutors were reviewing the case, and it remained unclear when they would decide what to do with the boy.
When someone younger than 12 starts a fire, his or her actions are considered "playing with fire" and not arson, according to fire officials.

Rent gouging reported; prosecution may be hard

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office is checking numerous reports of rental-rate price gouging in areas hit hard by wildfires, but so far, few cases are expected to result in prosecutions.

“I'm getting a lot of rumors and we are tracking every one of them down, but we are not getting a whole lot of confirmation,” said Deputy District Attorney Tricia Pummill, who works with the Economic Crimes Division.
“In each situation we have to determine what the (rental) price was before the disaster. . . . We are jumping on these. They are not sitting on someone's desk.”
Most reports of higher-than-normal rents have been in the Rancho Bernardo area. Investigators must determine if recent home improvements justify price increases, she said.
The San Diego County Apartment Association has posted a notice at sdcaa.com warning landlords that raising rents by more than 10 percent during a declaration of emergency is a crime punishable by a $10,000 fine or up to a year in jail, or both. The rent restriction remains in effect for 30 days.
The law also applies to people who sell essential goods, such as food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials and gasoline, he said. It covers repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, transportation, freight and storage services and hotel accommodations.
At The Reserve apartment complex in 4S Ranch, 15 apartments were leased to two corporate housing companies soon after the wildfires. Such companies often furnish leased apartments and rent them out to individuals, corporations and insurance companies.
The corporate housing firms have raised their rents beyond 10 percent of what The Reserve had been charging for the unfurnished units, said General Manager Lisa Mason.
Joe Porpiglia, chief operating officer of National Corporate Housing, said that's legal and in keeping with the money that was spent to provide those units with furniture, computers and housewares.
“We are very comfortable if the governor or anyone else wants to look at our markup,” he said.
The Reserve still has regular unfurnished units available, Mason said. Outside the hardest-hit wildfire areas, apartment rental rates countywide probably won't be affected by the disaster, said Robert Pinnegar, executive director of the apartment association.

Temporary nests

Don't tell business traveler Mike Napoli there's no place like home.He has found a way wants to re-create that feeling as closely as possible even on long trips.When Napoli and his colleagues spent several days in Chicago last year for a trade show, they chose corporate housing over a hotel.

"It's certainly more relaxing than a hotel and allows me to get up in the morning and make a cup of coffee and get some breakfast," he said.When they stayed in a hotel on another visit, "we bought a bunch of pizza and kept it in the refrigerator when we worked at night and wanted a snack. Corporate housing is easier," said Napoli, who works for a company that sells floor coverings.According to the Corporate Housing Report 2007, published by the Highland Group, a management consultant, there were an estimated 3,618 units dedicated to corporate housing in the Chicago area in 2006, a 14 percent increase from a year earlier. The report defines corporate housing as furnished apartments that include utilities, linens, utensils and other necessities, typically rented 30 days at a time.The 2007 inventory of these units is projected to increase by 6 percent, while the occupancy rate in Chicago in 2006 was 88 percent. On average, states the report, corporate housing occupancy is considerably higher than that of hotels. The average length of stay in corporate housing in Chicago in 2006 was 68 days at an average rate of $99 a day.In contrast, the average daily rate for a hotel room in the Chicago area was $122 at year-end 2006, but rates were "significantly different" when looking at just downtown hotels, which were as high as $180 for year-end 2006, according Duane Vinson, vice present at Smith Travel Research."In general, customers have become more sophisticated about their travel options and preferences. This has been particularly true in the last 10 years," said Peggy Berg, president of the Highland Group. She added that the product has improved accordingly.Thomas Golden, who spent several months in Chicago on an assignment for the U.S. Postal Service, had such a "turnkey operation" in mind when he chose corporate housing downtown. "I have a full kitchen, utensils, everything."Golden, who had a one-bedroom unit, said he'd have felt more constricted in a hotel room. "Because I was going to be living here for six months, I wanted to be able to stretch out, walk around, have some room," said Golden, of Pennsylvania.Young Hill, general manager of Marriott ExecuStay, said while the basics are key, amenities have become more meaningful. "Does it have a fitness center, swimming pool and business center? I think before, people didn't care as much about building amenities because they weren't using all of them; it was really about location."However, she said as people are staying in corporate housing longer, they want these things. "They want to be able to mirror their life at home to what they're doing when they're out traveling for business." That includes proximity to shopping and a grocery store.Besides easy access to a laundry room, a swimming pool and fitness weren't that important to Golden. But they were to his colleagues, who stayed at another downtown location that had them. "I didn't care, only because I'm overseeing the project and just don't have time [to use them]."Barbara van Rekom, who will be staying in a corporate apartment downtown until the end of the year, also doesn't ask for much."It's more cost effective. I have free Internet ... and I have my own kitchen and don't have to eat out every night. I can actually make a peanut butter sandwich if I want to," she said.Most important, said van Rekom, a Nashville-based project manager for Hewlett-Packard Co., "I don't have to drag my stuff back and forth. Every week, I fly in on Mondays and home on Fridays, so it's my home away from home, and I don't have to change rooms every week."Hotels have the edge in certain areas, such as daily maid service, said Elaine Quiroz, president of Corporate Housing Strategies, a Virginia-based training and development firm in the corporate housing. "But because guests [in corporate housing] stay so much longer than those at a hotel, they don't always want someone coming into their private space daily. Although some ask for weekly maid service, others prefer to opt out of maid service completely, and just settle in."It's not that Napoli, an Idaho native who stayed in a brownstone in Lincoln Park, doesn't see any downside to the arrangement. "You don't have maid service every day; you don't have a restaurant where if you're involved in something, you can just call down and get room service."But for us, the drawbacks are insignificant compared to the convenience and cost savings," noted Napoli, who said two colleagues stayed in a one-bedroom unit on one floor, while he and an associate occupied a two-bedroom unit on another floor."We wanted to save on expenses. We found the cost of us in three hotel rooms would have been about $800 a night. We were able to do that for much less, maybe about half."Quiroz also noted the high level of furnishings, bedding and amenities now offered in corporate housing. "It's becoming more aligned with the better hotels. The nice touches such as high-thread count sheets, for example. You expect to find these in hotels, but guests using corporate housing for the first time are often surprised at the superior quality of the interiors, furnishings and amenities."She says that business travelers today are more sophisticated in their accommodation choices, and that includes corporate housing."Corporate housing is still relatively new to many travelers, having evolved in the last 40 years. Yet once travelers stay in these spacious apartments, they quickly develop a preference for them over hotels, for their longer-term stays. There is nothing that compares to having your own 'home' while on the road. And as corporate apartment services and amenities continue to move higher, this will become an even stronger choice for travelers."Steve Cuskey, who visited Chicago last year for a trade show, is sold. "I pretty much rent places wherever I go because, to me, a hotel room has become jail with drapes and a television after about two days. [With corporate housing] everything's there, like a full-blown kitchen, an office with Internet access, a board room," said Cuskey, who also stayed in the Lincoln Park area.Like Napoli, Cuskey emphasized the importance of establishing a "home" on the road. "What was important to me was having something that looks like my house and not a hotel room. I mean, how common has the word 'suite' become? I'm an old guy. Now a suite is just this word that means you have two rooms and a microwave sitting on top of a refrigerator. So I always try to zero in on something a little better."Jim Haring, owner of China Doll Guest House in Chicago, agreed. "Business travelers are sick of sterile hotel rooms or even suites. They are discovering the option of self-catered apartments where they get a complete home and each apartment is unique. A Wi-Fi connection is a must, but many also offer completely equipped offices in the apartment.""I want to have everything I need when I want it in the morning," added Cuskey. "I suppose I'm an old curmudgeon; I like to have coffee put ready right there and I don't want to wait for room service. And I sure don't want to have to tip the guy on top of that. And heaven help you if you open up mini-bar and take anything out," he said with a laugh."It has to feel like home."

Celebrity real estate agent beaten to death

Linda Stein, former manager of US punk band the Ramones and realtor to New York's A-list celebrities, has been found beaten to death in her Fifth Avenue apartment.
Stein, whose clientele included Madonna, Sting, Steven Speilberg and Angelina Jolie, died from "blunt impact injuries of the head and neck" according to the New York medical examiner's office.
The 62-year-old's death is being treated as a homicide, reports CNN, but the New York Police Department have refused to comment on possible suspects.
There were no signs of forced entry to Stein's luxury apartment on exclusive Fifth Avenue when police responded to a 911 call on Tuesday night local time.
The New York Times reports that the leading real estate agent was found face down in a pool of blood by her daughter Mandy and a friend.
The Times said that the building had security systems including surveillance cameras at the entrance and in the lobby, doormen and elevator operators.
Stein had been struggling with breast cancer, close friend and colleague Dottie Herman told CNN.

She had a tough exterior, but she had a heart of gold," said Herman, chief executive of Prudential Douglas Elliman, where Stein worked.
"I just assumed Linda fell and hit her head when I first heard about this, because I can't imagine anyone that would want to kill Linda."
A statement on the Prudential Douglas Elliman website described Stein as "feisty, talented, charming, and relentless".
It said she was a "bright light who quickly rose to fame once she entered the real estate business and became known as the 'Realtor to the Stars'.
At the time of her murder she was marketing a property in Montauk, New York priced at $US26 million ($34.2m) and another in Siena, Italy for $9 million.
Stein, a former teacher, was once married to Seymour Stein, former president of Sire Records and vice president of Warner Brother Records, who was credited with jumpstarting the careers of the Ramones, Talking Heads and Madonna to stardom.
She was a 'fixture' in famous nightclub Studio 54 and was supposedly the inspiration behind the real estate agent who sells Charlie Sheen's character a high-rise apartment in the movie Wall Street.
Long-time friend Elton John said in a statement: "I'm absolutely shocked and upset. She's been a friend for over 37 years and will be greatly missed, She did so much for breast cancer and was a huge supporter of my AIDS foundation."
- NZ HERALD STAFF