A Spokane man who spent months fighting for his life at Harborview Medical Center has passed away.

Shawn Apperson was severely burned in a house fire last December after helping his fianc and their baby escape out a window. Apperson didn't fit through the window and was later found by firefighters.

"It was just a nightmare, all very sad,"Shawn's father, David Apperson, said.

Shawn spent five months in ICU at Harborview and went through countless surgeries. He had burns on 65-percent of his body.

"He's a vigilant warrior," David said.

For months, Shawn made tremendous progress but, on March 4, everything changed.

"Shawn had an episode that turned him into a different direction," David said.

Shawn went into cardiac arrest. His dad said his liver stop functioning and he became paralyzed. On May 3, he died at Harborview with his family by his side.

"Shawn made a decision when he begin to save his family and he didn't stop. He put their lives ahead of his own regardless of what was going to happen," he said.

In this tragedy, David said his family came together.

A Spokane man who was severely burned in a December house fire died Friday at a Seattle hospital.

The fire was on Dec. 4 at a family's house in the 2600 block of East Central Avenue.

The father, Shawn Apperson, 28, was burned while saving his fiance and four children from the flames. Apperson did not fit through the window that they crawled out of and was later found by firefighters. He had third-degree burns over more than 75-percent of his body and he was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The fire started by smoking materials that smoldered after a house guest left for work.

Spring is finally here and Summer is just around the corner, and with the onset of warm weather across the region Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service reminds us to keep our pets safe in the heat.

"Every summer, we respond to calls of animals being left in cars," says Nancy Hill, Director of SCRAPS. "Inside a car, the temperature will rapidly increase and can overwhelm a pet in a very short time period - sometimes with fatal consequences."

If you typically bring your dog or other pets along for the car ride consider leaving them home when temperatures rise. Dogs aren't able to sweat to cool themselves down so it doesn't take much for them to overheat. Cracking a window while you run into the store isn't enough to keep them healthy.

"The temperature outside doesn't have to be in the 90's or more for a problem to exist," says Hill, "On a 78 degree day, temperatures in a car parked in the shade can exceed 90 degrees, and hit a scorching 160 degree if parked in the sun."