A California man who was planning to propose to his girlfriend on New Year’s Eve died during a Christmas Day house fire after searching for the engagement ring.
Oakland fire crews were alerted to the blaze in the 3500 block of Oak Knoll Boulevard around 6:15 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Dec. 25, according to FOX affiliate KTVU.
Firefighters who were searching the home eventually found the man unconscious inside.
The victim has been identified by relatives as 37-year-old Steven Weatherford Jr., according to KTVU and FOX affiliate KGO.
Weatherford was reportedly looking for an engagement ring when he was apparently overcome by the smoke and fire. Family said he was planning on using the ring to propose to his girlfriend on New Year’s Eve.
LaShante Mayo, Weatherford’s girlfriend, said her late boyfriend “was truly the best person you could ever meet,” according to KTVU.
“He loved his family, his friends, everybody so much,” added Mayo, who was unaware that he was planning to propose until the day of the fatal blaze.
Weatherford lived in Antioch and was visiting family in Oakland when the fire broke out, according to KTVU.
The home involved in the fire belongs to his father Steven Weatherford Sr., according to a GoFundMe campaign started by the man’s neighbors.
“He was trying to save everybody, make sure everybody was out of the house. He may not have known they all went out the back,” said Weatherford’s aunt, Eunice Smith, according to KGO.
“And my other nephew was calling for him because they were all in the back,” Smith continued, “and they were calling, ‘Steven! Steven! Come out! Come out!’ and they heard him screaming. And he never made it out.”
Michael Hunt of the Oakland Fire Department (OFD) said the fire appears to have been accidental, according to KTVU.
More than $16,000 has been raised through the neighborhood GoFundMe campaign. The funds will go toward covering the family’s “immediate financial needs” following the blaze and Weatherford’s memorial service.
