Adriana Bencomo was an active, dedicated volunteer with the Rio Communities Fire Department

RIO GRANDE ESTATES — As New Mexico State Police continues to investigate a quadruple homicide at a home in southwest Valencia County, local fire personnel mourn the loss of one of its own, and the community begins the process of grieving the violent loss of a family.

Adriana “Andy” Bencomo, 35, was one of four people allegedly killed by her son, Diego Leyva, 16, in the early morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 14. Leyva is accused of killing his family — father, Leonardo Leyva, 42, and mother, Adriana; and brothers, Adrian Leyva, 17, and Alexander Leyva, 14.

Since 2007, Bencomo served her community as a volunteer firefighter for the Rio Communities Fire Department.

“I’ve known Andy her entire career here. She was always happy at this station. She was always happy on scene. She was always funny. I had the pleasure of working with her and being her chief,” said RCFD Chief Andrew Tabet on Monday. “If we had a really bad call, she would make it better and not even know how. She just did.”

Bencomo’s dedication to the fire service spanned more than a decade and even crossed international borders.

Originally from Mexico, Spanish was her first language and English her second.

“She wanted to help the community, help her community — Spanish speakers — understand what the fire department was. She wanted to be able to be there for them, as well as everybody else,” Tabet said.

Her struggles with the language prevented her from earning her Firefighter I and II certifications, he said, so she took it upon herself to return to Mexico and attend the Academie de Bomberos Ciudad de Mexico — the Firefighter Academy Mexico City — to become certified.

When Bencomo returned to the states, she was able to get her certifications, as well as get her EMT basic license, Tabet said.

“She was determined,” he said. “She took the initiative. She did this the better part of her life for this station, for this community, for this county. Before we were a city, we were county and we went everywhere.”

Tabet remembers Bencomo’s willingness to translate for Spanish-speaking patients, whether she was on duty or not, often fielding calls on her days off.

In her time away from the fire station, she was a wife, mother and little bit of a farmer, Tabet said with a chuckle. At her home in Rio Grande Estates, there were goats, pigs and chickens.

“Everything you could think of,” said the chief. “Her husband worked in construction and she worked with him a lot, helping him.”

She and Leonardo were well suited for each other, he said, “bouncing off each other.”

Usually the first one off the truck at a scene, Bencomo was never one to shy away from learning and working to become a better firefighter. She always looked for Belen Deputy Fire Chief Mike Wessels when RCFD assisted with calls in the Hub City, knowing he was more than willing to take her and other firefighters into a structure fire.

“She loved fighting fires,” Tabet said. “But if she answered a call and the truck had already left, she’d find something to do — sweep the bay, clean the dirt off the tender, without anyone asking. A lot of people, if they don’t get to be on the big, red fire truck, they go home. For Andy, it was about more than that. It was about this station and the camaraderie with the people here. She earned every single person’s respect because of her work ethic and her empathy.”

As word spread of Bencomo’s death, calls from other fire departments began coming in, with offers of help and support. Both the Belen and Valencia County fire departments sent personnel to Rio Communities to answer calls and to simply provide a listening ear as those who worked side-by-side with Bencomo began to work through their grief.

“That was exactly what we needed,” Tabet said.

Other fire departments reaching out is a normal part of the fire service, said Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp, but the number of media calls from outlets as far away as the other side of the ocean, such as The Guardian in London, England, was a surprise to both Tabet and Propp.

“I think part of it was just the very shocking nature of what happened that drew so much attention,” Propp said. “Other departments reaching out to offer support and help is very normal.”

While he didn’t know her well, Propp remembers the first time he met Bencomo on a call.

“It was a fire south of Rio Communities. I was talking to some other chiefs and she walked up, grabbed my jacket and pulled me aside,” he remembers. “She said, ‘You were standing in the street and I don’t need you getting hit by a car.’ It became a running joke after that.

“I’m sad I didn’t get the opportunity to know her well. She obviously cared for the people in her department and the community. Everybody I heard from said she was a good, genuine person.”

“Genuine” was also one of the ways Valencia County Assistant Fire Chief Jaime Gonzales described Bencomo.

“Just make sure the world knows she worked hard, was kind and full of integrity,” said Gonzales. “She was genuine, and I am blessed to call her my friend.”

Three schools were impacted directly by this horrific crime. Diego attended Belen High School, while Alexander was enrolled at Belen Middle School and Adrian at the School of Dreams Academy in Los Lunas.

BMS assistant principal Caleb Crum said the loss of Alex has been taken very heavily.

“The overall tone and atmosphere was heavy,” Crum said. “This was so unexpected and tragic.”

Councilors from school sites within Belen Consolidated Schools are at the middle school, and will most likely remain there through the end of the week, he said.

“We’ve been able to support our team and scholars with specialists and councilors. Many main office staff members have been here to make sure we’re doing OK,” Crum said. “The students held a memorial of sorts on campus Monday where they did a release of balloons and said a few words. Almost everyone was on the field for that and I think it started the process of healing and really helped our scholars be there for each other. Grieving comes in many languages and forms.”

The assistant principal called Alex “a very bright kid,” who was well liked and always had a smile on his face.

In a written statement from Belen Consolidated Schools Superintendent Lawrence Sanchez, it was announced there would be additional counseling services for students at Belen Middle and Belen High schools.

“Our hearts go out to the victims, their loved ones and everyone impacted by this devastating loss. No words can adequately convey the profound sorrow we feel for this unimaginable tragedy,” Sanchez wrote. “To those grieving, we stand with you and offer our deepest sympathies ... Let us honor the memory of the victims by fostering kindness, compassion and understanding within our community.”

Mike Ogas, superintendent at SODA, said Monday was a very somber day on campus.

“A lot of students and staff are hurting,” Ogas said. “We had great support from the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office and other mental health workers. We are still all trying to process.”

When it was realized Bencomo was among those killed Saturday, the Valencia County Fire Department activated its peer support team and called in Public Safety Psychology Group to provide support to members of the RCFD and other first responders who answered the call at the Leyva home.

“We’ve also reached out to AMR and (the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office) to make sure everybody is included,” Propp said.

The chief said information has been put out saying the Rio Communities department is the point of contact for assistance to the family. While well-meaning, Propp said there have been no requests made of RCFD to assist with fundraising or funeral arrangements at this time.

“This isn’t the time to call the station. They are going through a lot. They will reach out to the family, but until then Valencia County Fire is acting as the liaison for Rio Communities for any inquiries while they take some time,” he said. “Help is always appreciated but we want to make sure we aren’t overwhelming members of the department. This was their friend.”

The Valencia County Fire Department administrative offices can be reached at 505-866-2040.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral costs. The campaign is called “Familia Leyva” and can be searched for at gofundme.com.