An Antioch, California, man died on Christmas Day after rescuing his family from a house fire.
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Officials shared that firefighters were dispatched to a house fire in Oakland around 6:15 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Dec. 25, where they found the house ablaze.
Steven Weatherford, Jr. was reportedly able to rescue his father, aunt, and brother from the inferno, but then returned inside the house.
KTVU reported that Weatherford reentered the house to retrieve an engagement ring he planned to give his girlfriend on New Year’s Eve.
Authorities said he was likely overcome or disoriented by the smoke and collapsed. He was found unconscious by firefighters and later died.
Relatives told reporters that Weatherford was nicknamed “Gummy Bear” due to his loving personality.
“Steve was truly the best person you could ever meet. He loved his family, his friends, everybody so much. He died trying to get them out of the house,” Weatherford’s girlfriend, LaShante Mayo, tearfully recalled at the scene.
Mayo said Weatherford’s family informed her of his plans to propose following the tragedy.
“I had given up on love until I had met him,” she said.
Michael Hunt of the Oakland Fire Department said the cause of the fire appears to be accidental.
Residents in the Oak Knolls-Golf Links neighborhood have created a GoFundMe campaign to help Weatherford’s family.