DENVER -- Her husband died in an avalanche while trying to rescue a friend.

The wife of South Metro Firefighter Brian Kopp wants his story told.

Jennifer Kopp has talked to her husband’s best friend, who narrowly escaped the slide, about what happened Saturday.

“He said he couldn’t get there in time,” Kopp said, choking back tears.

She said Brian Kopp had been snowmobiling with his best friend Chuck Goetz and Chuck’s son Mark near Grand Lake when the avalanche began, and that Kopp was on his way out of the slide, but turned back to try to help Mark get out of trouble.

”I think the end of his story tells who he was. He died doing what he loved, trying to save someone, trying to help someone else,” she said.

Both Kopp and Mark Goetz were killed in the avalanche.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Kopp also leaves behind 11-year-old twins.

The South Metro Fire Authority has set up a fund for those who wish to donate to the Kopp family: The Brian Kopp Memorial Fund c/o First Bank P.O. Box 1300 Castle Rock, CO 80104 Account #2853013472