DC woman calls fireman her 'angel,' thanks him for rescuing her from Navy Yard senior apartment fire

WASHINGTON - He was just doing his job, but the heroic rescue was caught on camera. DC Fireman Da'von McRae saved a woman after her senior housing building went up in flames Wednesday.

Bettye Carter calls firefighter McRae her angel. She wanted to thank him in person and on Sunday, she got the chance. McRae has only been on the job for a little over a year, and this was his first rescue.

"I told her to stay calm, I got you," he recalled. "I'm going to take you out of the window."

He says Carter was panicking, but he tried his best to reassure her even as fire seared through the building.

"I was letting her know I'm here with you I'm not going to let anything happen to you," said McRae.

McRae is on Engine 6, the same company as his father, Lt. Kevin McRae, who died in 2015, collapsing after rescuing five people from a fire in a DC high rise.

Despite knowing the incredible risks of the job, his son was determined to follow his father's career path.

"I just want to make a difference especially in the city I grew up in. That's all I want to do is make a difference," he said.

For Carter, McRae's efforts made all the difference Wednesday, as he took her down the ladder the four stories to the ground. She shook his hand and hugged him Sunday morning.

"She was my best friend today. Miss Bettye kept hugging me kept embracing me with love. Miss Bettye was thanking me for everything I did, but I wanted to tell her that it was a team effort," he said.

She gave him a card that reads: "Thank you for being an angel here on earth. To God be the glory. I am so grateful."