Fire crews pour water on a house fire Tuesday morning at 113 E. 1000 Road in rural Douglas County, west of Baldwin City.

Tuesday morning Kevin Matthews smelled something odd through his sleep apnea mask.

Opening his eyes, Matthews discovered his room was filled with thick gray smoke.

“I took my mask off and immediately started choking,” he said. “The smoke was so thick. It was on top of me.”

Flying out of bed, Matthews tried to check the stairs down from his second-floor bedroom, but flames blocked his way. He was forced back into his bedroom, catching a glimpse of his purebred German Shepherd unconscious in the hallway.

Grasping for anything solid enough to break through a window, Matthews found a piece of a shelf and began smashing through his bedroom’s double-paned glass.

“I just jumped,” he said. “And as soon as I landed I knew something wasn’t right with my left knee. I could hardly stand.”

Once he was outside Matthews said he was able to flag down the driver of a Century Link vehicle, who helped him call 911 and let him sit in the van to keep warm while emergency responders rushed to the scene.

Firefighters received a report of the fire at Matthews’ home at 113 East 1000 Road — west of Baldwin City — around 10:13 a.m., said Willow Springs Fire Department Assistant Chief Clint Hornberger. The fire was under control within an hour, but the house is considered a total loss.

Nine adult dogs and five puppies died in the fire, Matthews said with a wavering voice. Several of the dogs were his personal pets; others were those he had rescued and was working to find an adoptive home for.

“Well … even my pets were rescues,” he said. “All of them were rescues. Even the ones that were my pets were animals that I had rescued and decided to keep.”

Six cats outside — and a seventh who typically disappears for weeks on end — survived, Matthews said.

For over two years Matthews said he has headed the Baldwin Animal Rescue Network, or BARN. Through that organization he brings in rescued animals and tries to find homes for them.

“He tries to take in rescue dogs and cats and places them in good homes,” said Dr. Tim Jones, a veterinarian at Baldwin City’s Companion Animal Hospital. “He takes them in, tries to get their vaccines up to date. If they have an injury we can help him take care of that.”

The hospital sees Matthews and his rescue pets about 30 times in any given year, both for routine and more serious medical issues, Jones said.

“He’s an honest guy, fair, he’s very considerate and always wanting to reach out to people and help them,” Jones said. “He’s very generous and very helpful.”

Matthews said he spent Tuesday night in the Olathe Medical Center and he expects he’ll be there a bit longer while he waits for an MRI on his knee. After that he plans to stay with a few friends from church, but otherwise his plans are uncertain.

“I don’t know; everything is just a daze right now,” he said. “I’m going to have to wait until I get out of here and see what my options are.”

Since the fire a GoFundMe account was established online in his name. As of Wednesday evening the account had raised $610 of a $5,000 goal.

Hornberger said the cause of the fire appeared to be accidental.

Although his future is uncertain, Matthews said he has worked caring for animals for the past 25 years and he plans to continue that work.

“I mean, it’s something I do, it’s something I love,” he said. “It’s not something I can give up.”