A house fire Christmas morning in East Oakland left a man dead after he helped three family members escape the flames, according to fire officials.
At about 6:15 a.m., Oakland firefighters responded to the 3500 block of Oak Knoll Boulevard in the city's Oak Knoll Golf Links neighborhood on reports of a house fire, officials said.
When crews arrived, they went into fire attack mode and discovered a 37-year-old resident unconscious inside the home, likely overcome by the smoke, fire officials said.
The victim, identified by neighbors as Steve Weatherford Jr., was credited by family members with saving his 80-something father, brother and aunt before he succumbed to the smoke, fire officials told NBC Bay Area.
One neighbor said after helping his family members get out safely, Weatherford went back into the burning structure one last time.
"He was going to propose on New Year's and had the ring, and apparently he went into their family safe to get the jewelry," the neighbor said.
Weatherford's girlfriend, LaShante Mayo, told NBC Bay Area that he was "an amazing man with a beautiful soul," adding that there are no words to describe how devastated loved ones are and that they don't know how they will emotionally recover from the tragedy.
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The cause of the fire appeared accidental, fire officials said.
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