SAN ANTONIO — A west-side family is displaced after waking up to smoke and flames billowing from their home last week.

All nine members of the Perez family made it out alive, but their rented home was destroyed in the fire.

The blaze broke out early Feb. 1 at a home in the 900 block of Leal Street. According to the San Antonio Fire Department, firefighters were able to extinguish the fire, and no injuries were reported.

Ashley Perez said she and her family were asleep when they noticed something was wrong.

“The smell — it was a funky smell,” Perez said. “We were all dead asleep. We woke up and saw the room was orange.”

Her husband, Jose Perez, said he initially tried to stop the fire before realizing it was spreading.

“Automatic reaction, I tried to stomp on it — that wasn’t working,” he said. “I saw the fire was on the wall by the socket, so I shut off the breakers. I woke everybody up and we ran outside.”

The couple had rented the home for about three years. As flames spread, the family could hear glass shattering and smoke pouring from the attic.

Despite the loss, the family says they are grateful everyone — including their pets — made it out safely.

“Luckily, no one was hurt,” Ashley Perez said. “All of our pets got out. That’s the main thing.”

Jose Perez echoed that sentiment.

“Material items can be replaced, but a life cannot,” he said.

Fire officials have not released the cause of the fire. The family is still waiting on the incident report.

In the meantime, the Perez family has received limited assistance from organizations such as the Red Cross and Goodwill but says they still need help.

“We still need a lot more to go,” Ashley Perez said.

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover basic necessities, temporary housing and the next steps toward recovery. A link to support the Perez family is available on the KENS 5 website.

Ashley Perez hopes others will take fire safety seriously.

“You see stories about fires and think you’ll be able to react fast,” she said. “No — it happens extremely, extremely fast. You need to be very cautious.”

To support the family, click here.

As the Perez family begins the long recovery process, emergency preparedness officials remind renters that insurance can play an important role after disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends renters insurance as part of financial preparedness, since it can help cover the cost of replacing personal belongings after events like fires.