WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) – A man in Kansas died earlier this week running inside a house on fire trying to save his fiancée and two children.
Police said 38-year-old Matthew Wright was on his way home when he arrived to find his home in flames.
Unaware his family had safely escaped through a window, Wright ran inside the house in an attempt to rescue them.
He did not make it out alive.
His fiancée and the two children sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
“Without hesitation I know he didn’t think, blink, or had any concern about himself, he was worried about his family, and he went in there to get them,” longtime family friend Charles Coffman Jr. said.
Loved ones and neighbors described Wright as a hard worker and a loving father, saying the sacrifice for his family was nothing short of expected.
“When it came to his family, he talked about his kids all the time, you know?” said Coffman. “He’d do anything he could, you know? He loved them, he showed them affection. He’d always like to see a smile on their face.”
Wright’s neighbors started a GoFundMe to help his family replace some lost items and care for the children.
“Christmases from this day forward are going to be tough for a long time,” Coffman Jr. said.
The state fire marshal’s office responded to the scene to assist with the investigation and determined this was an accidental electrical fire.
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