Screams for help woke Cheryl Schubert at 5:20 on Saturday morning.
"When we started focusing, we realized it was the tenant below us screaming," she recalled.
Soon smoke alarms sounded, and the downstairs apartment was in flames.
"It was right below my daughter's room," Schubert said.
The Fire Department said the Saturday morning fire at 12 Chester Ave. was caused when a bed caught fire on the first floor. No one was seriously injured, fire officials said. Officials did not identify the downstairs neighbor.
The Schubert family has since moved into a Newton home owned by Cheryl Schubert and her sisters. "My sisters and I ... were in the process of selling that property," she said.
Schubert is a nurse, and her husband, Craig, is involved in Waltham Youth Soccer. Although most of the damage was from smoke and water, the Schuberts lost many valuables.
"My daughter, she lost everything in her room. She lost all her furniture and her clothes," Cheryl said. "A lot of stuff we have we have to get rid of. We're playing the waiting game to see when we can go back in."
Her 19-year-old daughter Alyssa will be attending Endicott College next month.
Now the family is getting help from what might seem like an unlikely source - their real estate agent.
The Schuberts recently hired Elise Pantalone to sell the Newton home. After the fire, Pantalone decided to set up a fund at a local bank.
Donations for the Schubert Family Fire Fund are being accepted at Bank of America, 625 Moody St.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jgilbrid@cnc.com.
