large. everybody, you don't know what's happening. >> reporter: daisy mitchell survived by running down a darkened stairwell after first opening her door and smelling smoke. >> i went to the stairs to open the door, it blew me back in the house. i panicked. i told my husband, let me in the house, i'm blind, i can't see, i can't see. if i stayed out there another three seconds, i would have been gone, too. >> reporter: an outpouring of messages and support coming from across the globe. many residents have ties to gambia and the dominican republic. the white house reaching out, offering support, while members of the clergy gathered asking everyone to keep victims in their prayers. >> god, we know that you are the god that can rebuild, and you can restore. >> reporter: when it comes to so many fires like this, you hear so much about alarms not working. in this particular situation, the alarms throughout the building were working. again, the focus of the investigation on those