SPRINGFIELD — Although their two boys are close friends at Agnes Stewart Middle School, mothers Naowarath “Nancy” Xayavong and Jessica Nugent never had met.

That has changed in recent weeks, however, ever since Xayavong and seven of her family members lost their rental home in a fire believed to have been started by a malfunctioning portable heater.

Nugent, who works at Eugene Water & Electric Board, said she knew the family had lost all of its belongings in the fire — and is at risk of being homeless if the family can’t find some temporary housing soon.

Nugent set to work coordinating with friends and neighbors to come up with clothes and other necessities for the family. The day after the fire, she helped set up a GoFundMe website for the Xayavongs, and an account fund at a local credit union.

“Phillip and AJ are such sweet, incredible and respectful kids,” said Nugent, referring to two of Xayavong’s sons. “I put myself in their position and just had major empathy to what they were going through. I just wanted to do what I can to help.”

The night of the fire, the Red Cross paid for a hotel for the family for three nights. During that time, Xayavong spoke with the nonprofit Catholic Community Services agency, which was able to put the eight-person family up in a hotel for seven nights.

Since May 8, the family has been staying in a vacant one-bedroom apartment in a complex managed by a family friend.

After speaking with one property management company, the Xayavongs had hoped to rent a permanent location in Springfield starting at the end of this month. But earlier this week, the family learned that the property management company had denied its application.

Xayavong said that while she doesn’t have great credit, the company had agreed previously to let them rent as long as she included an extra security deposit.

Next Thursday, new tenants are moving into the apartment where the family is currently staying, she said.

Xayavong’s family includes her four children, all of whom attend Springfield School District schools: Sinouphone “Romeo” Dom, 17, is a junior at Gateways High School; Sinsamuth “Phillip” Xayavong-Dom, 14, is an eighth-grader at Agnes Stewart; Antwon “AJ” Xayavong-Ruoff, 12, is a sixth-grader at Agnes Stewart; and Savannah “Bob” Xayavong-Ruoff, 11, is a fifth-grader at Riverbend Elementary School.

Xayavong, 35, also shares her home with her mother, Nang Xayavong, 57; her stepfather, Phieng Phothong, 66; and her uncle, Thouy Xayasone, 47.

The four adults earn a living by selling a variety of Oregon plants, including bear grass and chantrelle mushrooms, Nancy Xayavong said.

Nang Xayavong said she, Nancy and other family members first came to the United States as refugees from Laos in 1982.

The house fire, which occurred in the 800 block of 57th Street on the night of April 28, resulted in about $80,000 in damages, said Jeff Kronser, a battalion chief with the Eugene Springfield Fire Department.

“It was an extensive fire,” Kronser said, noting that about 22 firefighters and paramedics responded, and needed about 25 minutes before declaring the scene under control.

For Xayavong and her family, it was also a harrowing fire.

Romeo, for example, recalls having to retreat after smoke rushed into a hallway.

“The first thing I thought of was to get my brothers out of the room,” he said. He remembers ordering his younger brothers to jump out the window of the one-story house.

“My mom was screaming and calling 911, and my grandma, I think she went into shock,” Romeo said.

Ultimately, everyone managed to escape without injury.

But now, says Nancy Xayavong, they are facing a new and different kind of crisis.

“We only have a week left before the new tenants move in and then we are out of a place to sleep,” she said.