Help for Milford Family whose Home Burned

A family whose home burned to the ground this month on Domenick Street is trying to find a new home in Milford, but is temporarily staying with family in Framingham.

The family owns several rental properties, said Lucia Ribeiro, but the apartments are occupied by tenants with leases, or are too small for the family of six. "I can't make them move out," she said.

"I've got to have a place to go," she said. "It's been traumatic."

The family was on a skiing trip to Wachusett Mountain when the fire was discovered. The family has owned the home since 2003.

The goal now is to get back to Milford, she said. The Feb. 16 fire destroyed their two-story home, and all their possessions.

Over the past week, volunteers with the schools have organized and are contributing school supplies, including book bags, for the youngest children, she said.

The family is accepting donations of clothing for all of the children, as well as school supplies for the two oldest. "They don't have anything," Ribeiro said Monday, in a phone interview.

The children's ages and sizes are as follows:

• 8-year-old boy, shoe size 2, clothing size 9
• 11-year-old girl, shoe size 5 or 6, clothing size 12-14
• 14-year-old girl, shoe size 9, clothing size small in misses
• 16-year-old son, shoe size 10, clothing size medium in adult male

The oldest boy is temporarily out of the country, but will be returning home soon, Ribeiro said.

The donations can be dropped off at the home of a family aunt, Beatriz Ribeiro, at 18 Prospect Heights.