Princeton man dies in house fire after getting his 3 children to safety

PRINCETON - Loved ones say a Collin County man was able to get his children out of their burning home, but he didn't get out.  

Father saves his family

What we know:

On Sunday evening, a 57-year-old father, Troy Scheffman, and his family prepared for bed before flames had half the double-wide trailer engulfed the following morning. 

Scheffman was trapped inside his burning home around 2 a.m. as he yelled at his daughter to break a window and get the boys out.  

"Apparently, Troy yelled at his daughter to break a window and get the boys out. So they did and crawled out the window. Troy stayed behind to get the pets out, but he didn't make it," said a friend of the family, Paul Scrivano.

Firefighters pulled Scheffman out, but he later died at a McKinney hospital, according to the Collin County Fire Marshal.

His three children were able to escape and survived.

Scheffman's wife was out of town at the time when she received the devastating call.

Who was Troy Scheffman?

What they're saying:

"That’s him. That is what he would have done. He would put his needs aside," Scrivano continued.

"Everyone in our community would at least say a prayer for him and his family," said Scrivano.

Scrivano led a prayer service at Scheffman's church on Monday just hours after Scrivano learned about the death of his friend.

The two poured hours into the charity organization serving the homeless and visiting VA hospitals.

"He was a man of God. He was the most generous man I ever knew in my life. He would give the shirt off his back. Even if it was the last shirt he had. He was inspirational too. He inspired us to do things that we might not have done." Scrivano praised him.

"We need a guy like him in our council and parish and our community. I do not know how will we replace him. We will not be able to," said Scrivano.

What's next:

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.