"You will have to excuse me if I get a little emotional," said homeowner Rita Rice.
You do not have to tell Rice how tragic it could have been when her Greenwood home went up in flames.
"I am one blessed mother," said Rice. "God was with me."
"The 68-year-old has lived in the house on Russell Lane for 46 years. She will forever remember one night above all the rest, the night a teenager came to her rescue."
"He is my hero," said Rice. "You can not say enough about him. I was blessed."
A fire started at 2 a.m. on Saturday, May 5 in the living room of Rice's house. Rice's grandchildren were staying with her and were actually the ones who woke her up.
She and 5-year-old granddaughter Laura were able to get out the front window, but she was too weak to get to 4-year-old grandson Gavin. Ian Kenney heard Rice's cries for help and ran to the front of the house."
"She said, 'go and get my grandson out,'" said Kenney.
"And he reached through the window and pulled him out," said Rice. "And then he handed him to my neighbor Bruce, and then he came back for me and got me off the porch."
"Kenney said it all happened so fast."
Reporter: "Ever think of yourself as a life-saver?"
Kenney: "Not before last week. That was completely unexpected. I did not see that coming."
Rice is convinced the Center Grove sophomore was sent by a higher power to protect her family.
"He is my hero, I was blessed," said Rice. "He was my guardian angel."
Rice's three grandchildren were in town from North Carolina. They were only staying with her because of a death in the family. Kenney was having a sleep-over with Rice's oldest grandson. Rice said if Kenney had not been staying with them, the fire would have had a more tragic outcome."
