'He was a hero': Oakland man dies in Christmas house fire after rescuing his family

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The family of Steven Weatherford started Christmas Day mourning his loss. He died trying to save his family from their burning house in Oakland on Christmas morning.

"Steven 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. And he succeeded! I loved him so much," says Lashante Mayo, Steven's girlfriend.

She just learned on Christmas morning that he was going to propose on New Year's Eve.

"I know he is looking down on us right now. I don't know what else to say. I just wish he was here right now," says Mayo.

His aunt, Eunice Smith, says for generations, the Weatherfords hosted big holidays like Christmas at the family home. She says Steven was sleeping on the couch when the fire erupted.

"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. And my other nephew was calling for him because they were in the back and they were calling, 'Steven! Steven! Come out! Come out!' And they heard him screaming. And he never made it out," says Smith.

The Oakland Fire Department says the cause of the fire is still unknown. It got a call around 6:15 a.m. of a house fire. When crews arrived on scene, they found Steven's body inside. They believe he was likely overcome and disoriented by the smoke and appears to have died from smoke inhalation.

"He was a good person. He was a good family man. He saved his family. He saved four people in that house. He woke them up and he saved them, and he went back - I guess because he wasn't sure that everybody was out of the house. So yes, he was a hero," says Smith.

Mayo's mother, Sandra Clark, also had high praise for Steven, who would have been soon-to-be son-in-law.

"When I met him, I said, 'That's the one. That's the one.' Her father and I - we just loved him so much. And he loved her so much. And I found out he was going to propose to her. He had bought the ring. He didn't get a chance to give it to her. But it is in the house, and we are going to find it," says Clark.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family.