'Everything Was Gone': Mom Of 2 Rebuilds After Devastating Plainview House Fire

PLAINVIEW, NY — A family of three has lost almost everything in a house fire that occurred in Plainview in February, just months before the daughters' joint B'not Mitzvah. A community of women stitched in solidarity, offered alterations and other kindnesses to make the day a dream come true.

Marisa Lichtenstein and her two daughters, Jules and Mia, endured a house fire on February 7 that wiped out their belongings on what was supposed to be a normal day.

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The mother of two said it was a typical winter morning. After leaving the home around 11:30 a.m., she ran some errands in the area. At around 4:30 p.m., she received a FaceTime call from a neighbor across the street.

"He turned the camera around on my house," she said. "It was up in flames."

The house fire occurred on Montclair Road at 4:32 p.m., fire marshals said. When Lichtenstein made it back to her house, there were about 10 firetrucks on the street.

"I was in shock," she said. "I was a mess. I couldn't believe what was going on."

Once it was deemed safe to enter, the fire chief and Lichtenstein entered the house. As she looked around, she took in the water-soaked furniture and walls.

"I was in a daze," she said. "It was an out-of-body experience."

Although not every part of the house was burnt, almost every inch was damaged – whether it was from water damage, smoke, or the flames. She grabbed a few necessities like medication names, as well as some jewelry that was preserved in a fireproof safe.

"The girls' rooms were totally destroyed," she said. "The garage. Documents. Everything was gone. My bedroom and all the furniture were totally water-damaged."

In the moments after the fire, she was thinking only about her children. The fire chief ran into the Plainview house and grabbed the two girls' Bat Mitzvah dresses for their upcoming B'not Mitzvah.

"He saved the dresses," she said. "In my weird state of mind, that was the one thing I wanted because it would make them happy."

She said her daughters were having trouble sleeping after the fire.

"You don't realize what's sentimental to kids," Lichtenstein said. "They lost their stuffed animals. They couldn't sleep. Their favorite things were gone. They didn't have that sense of security anymore."

Lichtenstein has lived on Long Island for nearly a decade with her daughters and credits the community with helping her family through this devastating time. A GoFundMe was launched the day after the house fire, and has raised more than $50k from more than 600 donors.

In the aftermath of the fire, Lichtenstein said her girls' friends called to ask how they were doing, friends of the mother checked in on her, and a friend opened her home for Lichtenstein to stay in. In the months after the fire, they stayed in a hotel until they signed a lease for another home in Plainview in May.

"The Plainview community was amazing," she said. "They gave about 30 bags of clothing."

Her friend and Plainview resident, Jen Kolton, turned her basement into a closet for Lichtenstein and her girls. Kolton set up racks of clothes and storage spaces for the Lichtenstein Family – they were living out of a hotel room with only two closets.

"Every week we would go to Jen's and exchange clothes and bring suitcases," she said. "We used it as our closet."

As she prepared for the B'not Mitzvah, she had the saved dresses dry-cleaned four times to restore them. After hearing about the fire, two local dress shop owners stepped up. The original dress shop, Mieka on Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury, offered free alterations to the girls, and Runway Couture on Merrick Road in Bellmore gave a dress, a custom belt, and jewelry.

Kimberly Towers, co-owner with Blanca Fuentes at Runway Couture on Merrick Road in Bellmore, wanted to help Lichtenstein in any way she could.

"These are litte kids, and this Bat Mitzvah and dresses are what they dreamed of," she said. "They went through enough."

Towers said Lichtenstein came in looking for a dress, and there happened to be one on the rack in the color she was looking for and in her exact size.

"It was like a miracle," she said. "We zipped it up, and it was perfect on her. She was so emotional."

Reflecting on the community, she said Long Island truly rallies for its people.

"It's all the women," she said. "They are very supportive of each other, and it's one of the reasons I moved to this area. It is a beautiful thing. They really do try to help each other."

Towers said she recognized someone in need and felt compelled to step in, just as she hopes others would do for her.

"I felt for her," she said. "It's a blessing to be able to help."

Along with local community members, she also received tons of gift cards for food and clothing, and discounts for the event. Party Harty also helped make the celebration special.

The event group went "above and beyond, making our event a huge success and bringing the entire group to make the girls' dreams come true."

Lichtenstein said they are in need of clothing for the warmer weather, especially for the girls, as camp is fast-approaching. The girls already have camp trunks, which have been graciously donated.

Their sizes are as follows:

Mia

Tops: Small

Shorts: Adult XS/S or 0

Shoes: 7.5/8

Bathing Suits: Adult Small

Jules

Tops: Kids L/XL

Shorts: Kids XL or Kids 7 in jeans

Shoes: Kids 3 or 4

Bathing Suits: 8

Marisa

Tops: Small

Pants: 0/24, 25, or Small

Shoes: 6.5/7