Sunland Park man left with nothing after makeshift apartment burns to the ground in fire

SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico -- It was Wednesday morning and Alejandro Roman was making his coffee in a shed turned into his makeshift apartment. He left to go downtown and came back to his home in ashes.

Roman told ABC-7 he lost everything in the fire, his clothes, his food, his tools, his bed and was only left with the clothes on his back.

The shed was also the place Roman worked to make extra money by fixing the neighborhood kids' bikes. Many of those bikes were in the shed and were charred.

Sunland Park Fire Chief Daniel Medrano told ABC-7 that such a misfortune can happen to anybody at anytime."

"This is a perfect example of how quickly someone could lose everything they own," Medrano said. "This poor gentleman he lost everything, he's going to have to live with the clothes on his back until his family can get him back on his feet."

Medrano said it's more common this time of year when the temperatures drop and the Christmas lights come out.

Medrano recommends unplugging all your Christmas lights when you go to bed and making sure your smoke detectors are working properly.