'Camping In A Glamorous Way': Hollywood Condo Residents Keep Chins Up After Fire Leaves Them In The Dark

HOLLYWOOD (CBSMiami) – After three weeks, lights remain off at a Hollywood condo. CBS4 got a peek inside building after the sun went down.

"It's camping in a glamorous way, that's what glamping is," said Jay Silverberg, as he described the condition he all the Trafalgar Towers II residents have been forced to endure.

They've been without power for since November 9, roughly three weeks ago.

"There was a fire, on the fifth floor right above me in the hallway wiring. FPL came and the fire brigade came and the city, and they ordered all the wiring to be taken out and rewired because this building is like 50 something years old already," Silverberg explained.

As a result of the rewriting, all 16 floors and 120 units of the Hollywood building has been forced to use candles and flash lights when the sun goes down.

"It's been a difficult time with no electricity as you can imagine," said resident Doris Dupree. "Not having a refrigerator that's functioning, I lost all of the food that was in the refrigerator. And not having lights now that it gets dark quickly, I have to use a flash light."

But there are a few emergency lights in the commons area. A charging station has also been set up, and one elevator is functioning, all being run by a generator.  And despite the inconvenience, the residents CBS4 spoke to remain in good spirits.

"There are worst things happening. I was thinking of the Champlain Towers that went down so this is really nothing compared to that," added Dupree.

"I don't mind it personally, I look at it as a challenge and I think things could be way worse. For a lot of people, they don't have a place to live, at least I have something… I mean you have candles and LED lights, I can get food every day, so I'm not going hungry and I can still sleep," said Silverberg.

The residents told CBS4's Bobeth Yates that a contractor has started the repairs and the city is working with them to speed up the permitting processes. Still, they don't expect to get electricity back for another two to three weeks.