It was a routine school run until Marlene Davis saw something she could not ignore.

A school bus driver in Morgan County, Georgia, is being praised after she helped alert a sleeping household to a fire at their home early last Friday morning.

Davis was driving her usual morning route when she noticed smoke, then flames, coming from inside a home she was passing.

“I saw the big flame coming from inside the house,” Davis said. “I just had to stop the bus and go to the door.”

With one student already on board, Davis pulled the bus over and ran to the front door. She rang the doorbell again and again, trying to get someone inside to respond.

“I rang the doorbell several times,” she said. “And finally, the man answered.”

The resident had been asleep and did not know the house was surrounded by flames. After Davis alerted him, everyone inside was able to get out safely.

The fire was later contained. Damage appeared to be limited mostly to the area around the home’s air conditioning unit.

Davis said she did not immediately know how serious the situation had been. She later learned the people inside had been sleeping when the fire broke out.

“I just got a text from my boss lady saying it was a house fire, and they were asleep,” she said. “And, you know, we could have saved their lives.”

The homeowner later made a point of thanking Davis in person. Later that day, he got her attention by flashing his lights so he could hand her a card and thank her for what she had done.

For Davis, stopping the bus and going to the door was a simple decision.

“It was the only thing that I could have done, and it was the right thing to do,” she said. “And I couldn’t just leave them.”

Loved ones of the couple have also thanked Davis for acting quickly that morning.

Her response may have made all the difference for the people inside the house.

“It was the only thing that I could have done, and it was the right thing to do,” she said. “And I couldn’t just leave them.”