Here’s why renters should check smoke detectors in their Airbnbs on Hilton Head Island
If you told your doctor that the first thing you do when you walk into your vacation home is double check all the smoke detectors, she might refer you to a psychiatrist.
But it might not be the most insane thing to do. Although short-term rentals like Airbnbs and VRBOs on Hilton Head Island are required to have working fire alarms and comply other fire safety measures, the town doesn’t inspect the properties.
That could soon change — or not.
The Hilton Head Island Town Council met Tuesday to discuss proposed amendments to the town’s short-term rental ordinance, originally passed in 2022. Fire safety was a key point of concern, but mandatory fire inspections for all units was not one of the proposed amendments.
In a short-term rental, accidents can be deadly — and lead to costly lawsuits.
A Palmetto Dunes short-term rental home burned down in 2022, killing one tourist and critically injuring another. The victim’s family filed suit against the rental company, Inspirato, last year.
The Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue, which only recently began tracking calls to short-term rentals, responded to 117 fire calls and 47 EMS calls at short term rental properties in the 121 days between Sep. 1, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2024.
That means that 71% of all calls from short term rentals to the fire department were fire calls, council member Melinda Tunner pointed out in Tuesday’s meeting. For the island as a whole, only about 24% of calls to the fire department were fire calls.
“What that tells me is that short-term rentals are three times more active in regards to fire-related calls than the population as a whole,” Tunner said.
Many fires stem from outdoor gas grills, said Fire Chief Chris Blankenship at the meeting.
“A lot of people take their food off, they clean them by burning them off, or they just forget to turn them off,” Blankenship said.
To combat this risk, a proposed new regulation would require any outdoor gas grill at a short-term rental to automatically shut off within one hour of use. An automatic shut-off switch can cost around $100 per grill, the fire chief said.
A second proposal would require rentals over 3,600 square feet — about the size of a four-bedroom house — to install “monitored” fire alarm systems.
These systems connect to a third-party monitoring company, which can call 911 if smoke is detected.
“It gets us out the door faster than if someone has to wake up and go search their house,” he said.
A set of five wireless smoke detectors which connect to an smartphone app can be purchased for about $200 online. These detectors often offer optional fire monitoring services for a subscription fee, which can cost about $50 per year. Some home security companies also offer bundles that include fire monitoring services.
About 577 short-term rentals on the island are over 3,600 square feet, or about 8% of all short term rentals on the island. However, the “vast majority” of them already have such systems installed, the fire chief said.
The house that burned down in Palmetto Dunes was 4,907 square feet, according to a Zillow listing.
Some council members at the meeting expressed a desire to increase regulations for all rentals, and ensure airtight compliance by introducing an inspection program.
Currently, property owners and managers abide by the honor code by signing an form stating the property meets safety requirements. Council Member Tamara Becker contended that all rentals should be inspected.
“If you’re asking to rent your property and put people into it, you need to prove that you do have all of those, not just sign an affidavit,” Becker contended.
Still, with over 7,100 short-term rentals on the island, that’s “a lot of inspections,” remarked Council Member Patsy Brison at the meeting.
The town currently inspects commercial properties to ensure they’re up to code, but that doesn’t currently include short-term rentals that are on otherwise noncommercial properties, such as homes. According to Deputy Fire Marshall Russell Rogers, the fire department currently performs about 4000 inspections per year, and doesn’t charge a fee.
To ease the burden on the local fire department, one option could be to allow inspections to be completed by a third party, but that idea is still in discussion.
Council member Becker also proposed making the new requirements apply to all short-term rentals. Blankenship explained that while adding fire monitoring systems to all units would be more safer, it’s more needed in larger homes, where fire can start in another part of the house and take longer to be seen by residents.
“In the smaller units … a fire is going to be noticed a little better than in the larger houses,” the fire chief said.
“Yes, it would be noticed if you’re awake,” rebutted Becker.
2022 deadly STR fire
The 2022 Palmetto Dunes fire began in the middle of the night. According to court records previously reported on in The Island Packet, one occupant “woke to a house in flames” around 3 a.m. and attempted to evacuate others.
While five of the occupants survived, one died of smoke inhalation before making it out of the house, an autopsy found.
One reason short-term rentals can post a greater fire risk is because vacationers are in an unfamiliar environment, explained Rogers.
“There’s a different mindset when you’re on vacation,” Rogers said. When people enter a vacation home, they’re less likely to familiarize themselves with the locations of exits, windows, and fire extinguishers.
Tuesday marked the first reading of the proposed amendments. The council might discuss the new regulations further at a strategic planning meeting Wednesday, according to Town Communications Director Heather Woolwine. A second reading could be held at an upcoming meeting in March or April.
Discussion of the amendments took over two hours of the council’s time, with many disagreements over how to best regulate the market for the safety of residents and tourists.
“This is all about the quality of life for our residents in our neighborhood and the visitors’ experience,” council member Becker remarked. “Our residents deserve us taking more time to be more careful to make sure that we get these as close to right as we can.”
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 12:42 PM.
