Watch the report\u203a\u203a<\/a><\/div>\n

(WTVD<\/a>) \u2013 On his drive home from a 24-hour shift at Raleigh\u2019s Fire Station 29 Sunday, Lt. Justin Rose spotted a plume of smoke in a nearby neighborhood.\n

Turning off Creedmoor Road and down Lynnoak Drive, he found he was the first one on the scene of an intense house fire.<\/p>\n

When a man out front told Rose his mother was still inside the house, Rose ran in after her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not realize at the time that he came into the house who he was,\u201d said Ann McLamb, standing outside her scorched home days later. Debris is still scattered across the driveway and caution tape surrounds her yard.<\/p>\n

Rose has spent 13 years running inside burning buildings, but Sunday was the first time he did it wearing only a sweatshirt and jeans. Making his way through thick smoke toward the back of the house, he found McLamb trying to reach her two dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wasn\u2019t gonna leave,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was dead set on staying there with her dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said you get out! You get out! I\u2019ve got them!\u201d McLamb said.<\/p>\n

As Rose scooped up the dogs, McLamb turned and started heading for the door. As soon as he ushered her safely across the street, Raleigh\u2019s Engine 18 was turning the corner.<\/p>\n

Rose stayed and helped hook their hose to the hydrant. Firefighters were able to quickly knock down the flames they said sparked in the garage when flammable liquids caught fire during vehicle maintenance before spreading to the second floor and attic space.<\/p>\n

\u201cPleased,\u201d said White of his reaction to one captain\u2019s email praising Rose\u2019s actions. \u201cNot surprised at all. Not surprised, but just how fortunate he was to be in the right place at the right time to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Rose\u2019s colleagues are calling him a hero, he insists it was a case of good timing.<\/p><\/div>\n