Stephen Kuehl and his wife, Charis, took their children, Nora, Vera, and Stella, on a family reunion trip with Charis Kuehl’s extended family for the Fourth of July week in 2024. The family of 19 rented a home in Juneau County, Wisconsin, hoping for a vacation they’d never forget. Tragedy struck on June 30, and a fire inside the home killed six people. Stephen Kuehl lost his wife and young daughter, and now he wants Airbnb to pay.
According to court documents obtained by Law & Crime, the fire broke out less than 36 hours after the family checked into the Airbnb property. Charis Kuehl reportedly awoke to flames about 2:30 a.m. on June 30 and began screaming. The couple gathered their three daughters and ran out of the room. Stella, the youngest, jumped into her mother’s arms. Stephen Kuehl took Nora and Vera out the back door, but their mother stayed upstairs to warn others about the blaze.
The front door and porch were reportedly engulfed in flames, and the back door was the only way out. Tragically, Charis and Stella became trapped on the second floor along with Charis’ father, Steven Witte, his adult daughter, Lydia Witte, and granddaughters Lena Henselin and Merci Henselin, per Law & Crime.
Stephen Kuehl’s lawsuit alleges the home lacked proper smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to alert guests in the event of an emergency.
“The cabin did not contain smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that were sufficient in number, sufficiently located, and/or functioning — if any at all,” the complaint notes. “A sufficient and functioning fire detection system would have saved the lives of each of [the family] members sleeping in the cabin that night. Mere seconds would have made a difference.”
In a news release from the Kuehl and Witte families’ attorney, the Quarles Law Firm, the families claim the home was not licensed or inspected under applicable Wisconsin and Juneau County regulations. The lawsuit names Airbnb, Generali U.S. Branch, Travelers Personal Insurance Company, and the owners of the Airbnb property.
“In the time since the devastating fire, I have come to learn that Airbnb — a multibillion-dollar international company — does next to nothing to ensure that the homes listed on their site, and from which Airbnb profits, are minimally safe for the people who rent them,” Stephen Kuehl shared in the news release.
Following the devastating fire, loved ones created a GoFundMe account for Stephen Kuehl and his surviving daughters. It’s raised more than $213,000 thus far.
No amount of money will ever bring back the six precious people the family lost. But if a court finds the allegations true, hopefully, things will change to spare another family this type of heartache.
