Belen family receives help after losing home in fire

BELEN, N.M. – On Dec. 12, 2021, the Romero family lost everything in a house fire.

“All of our belongings, our home, everything we had,” Amber Ryan said.

The family of nine lived in a hotel for two months. During that time, countless community members have reached out to help them pick up the pieces.

"My children’s school – Dennis Chavez Elementary in Belen – we probably wouldn’t have made it without them,” Ryan said. “There’s numerous teachers that aren’t even my children’s teachers that reached out to us bet us pay for our rooms made Christmas for my kids, even in a hotel room."

With help, the family was able to move into a new home a few weeks ago, but they did not have any furniture.

"The kids had a bed, but me, my husband, my older son were sleeping on the floor," Ryan said.

That was until Tuesday, the family was expecting Ashley HomeStore to drop off a couple of new mattresses, but the company ended up bringing a lot more.

"We got a delivery of furniture that just – it’s amazing – brand new beautiful furniture that made the home feel like a home now,” Ryan said. "I wasn’t expecting what we got. Everything was brand new, had tags on it, and we got couches, tables, beds."

Ashley fully furnished the Romero’s new home, at no cost. And even though the family cannot get back what they lost in the fire, they told KOB 4 they are finding reasons to be grateful for what happened.

"It was hard but we got through it, and now we’re in a better situation, we’re in a better home,” Ryan said. “We have more room for children and for everyone. So it kind of worked out for the best."