Steven Weatherford ran upstairs to wake his father and two aunts as a fire engulfed their home in Oakland, Calif. He later died of smoke inhalation, the authorities said.

An Oakland man died in a house fire Wednesday morning after safely getting his family out of the home, the fire department said.

Weatherford died after attempting to retrieve an engagement ring from a home safe during the fire for his girlfriend.

The 37-year-old ensured that his family were saved from the early-morning fire, but fell unconscious after returning to the house.

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.

A man who saved his family on Christmas morning when he woke them up to a fire in their home died after he went back inside and lost consciousness searching for an engagement ring.

A man who was planning to propose to his girlfriend in about a week died in a Christmas house fire after saving several family members, according to officials and news reports.

A man was killed in a fire early Christmas morning in Oakland while getting his family out of the house, according to the Oakland Fire Department. OFD responded to the blaze at 6:15 a.m. at a residential structure in the 3500 block of Oak Knoll Boulevard.