Three tourists claim they were horribly burned after their rental home exploded in Mexico as a result of a catastrophic gas explosion. However, homeowners deny that this ever happened.
Malachi McCormick, Jireh Johnson, and Jeannette Denogean are suing after being allegedly injured in a rental home explosion in Puerto Peñasco. They booked the property with FMI US Rentals through Airbnb in December 2025. The home suffered an alleged gas leak. The alarm allegedly went off but stopped after a few minutes.
"No instructions, guidance, emergency protocols, or follow-up communications were provided to Plaintiffs or other guests at the time of the gas-leak alarm activation," the complaint alleges. The guests assumed the alarm had malfunctioned. "Multiple guests detected a strong odor of gas in the area."
"Within moments, a sudden and violent gas explosion and fire erupted in the backyard area," the complaint stated. The rental home explosion allegedly burned the three guests. They "sustained severe and debilitating burn injuries," as a "direct and proximate result of the explosion and fire."
Rental Home Explosion
This resulted in them needing "extensive medical treatment, including but not limited to emergency care, hospitalization, surgeries, skin grafts, wound care, and ongoing rehabilitation."
Now, they're suing Airbnb and FMI US Rentals. The lawsuit claims that the companies were responsible for ensuring the safety of the properties. The plaintiffs are seeking damages and compensation for their pain and suffering. In a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Shindy Bejarano, office manager for FMI US Rentals, denied an explosion ever happened.
"This never happened, like it's fraud, it's a scam and our house is being suspended," she told the outlet. "We're not making money because of this lie."
Mysty Langford, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said that the incident "absolutely occurred."
"These three plaintiffs have horrendous injuries that they're still recovering from. One in particular has burns over probably 60 percent of his legs," she said, adding, "I have seen the medical records, I've seen the burn photos, I've seen the clients. It's very real."
