AC Condo Fire Left Woman With Nothing, Facing Uncertainty

One of the displaced residents from the Brighton Towers condominiums in Atlantic City after a four-alarm fire early on Jan. 14th, is asking for help through a GoFundMe.

Fire Struck Atlantic City High-rise

The fire was first reported at 4:51 am, and firefighters arrived to find heavy flames in the top half of Brighton Towers at 2834 Atlantic Avenue, a 13-story condo building.

It was later determined that the fire started on the eighth floor, with flames and smoke rising upward and affecting the higher floors.

Brighton Towers has no sprinklers in the building, allowing the flames to spread quickly as firefighters worked to evacuate everyone and put out the fire.

Hundreds of people were evacuated that morning, and firefighters said that twelve people were displaced by the fire, with nine units being deemed unsafe to return to.

Lana Mutschler was one of those residents.

Displaced Condo Resident Left Homeless After Fire

Lana Mutschler's 10th-floor apartment at Brighton Towers is a corner unit two floors up from where the fire started. It was one of the units left uninhabitable after the fire.

She told CBS3 she was only able to grab her handbag before rushing out of the burning building that morning.

"I tried to get as much as I could, but I couldn't get anything; I had to just walk out with my handbag basically. I was completely distraught because I didn't know what I was going back to."

Now Mutschler, who had no insurance, is left needing temporary housing, clothing, women’s toiletries, food, and basic living necessities until she can return to her apartment, which is expected to take six months or more.