SUPERIOR, Colo. — One man in Superior went back to his neighborhood during the Marshall Fire to save a friend in a house close by.
When the flames raced toward their property Thursday, Phil Kupfner and his brothers first thought they could save their homes.
“They were originally kind of using their hoses, and they thought they had kind of made some progress with a lot in deterring the fire. And then they just saw embers kind of coming up over the top and catching all their roofs on fire. And that was when they were like, 'oh God, get out,'" Phil's niece Jessica said.
But Phil went back in.
"He knew the neighbor was inside," Jessica said. "So yeah, he went back."
Jessica said the Kupfner family history goes back several decades in Superior by phone.
And the extended family is not only close but lived by each other on a few acres on the west side of town.
Phil's family said he ran into his neighbor's home, which was already on fire. And he put him in his truck, and they drove out of the fire in the flames.
After that, the family isn't quite sure what happened because neither Phil nor his neighbor can talk. Phil was somehow able to drive his neighbor to the hospital, where both are now in the ICU.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for the Kupfner family's medical expenses.
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