A Jasper County Sheriff’s deputy saved a 3-year-old girl from a house fire Saturday night, and says he did so “by the grace of God”.

Texas Deputy Cody Downs happened to be in the area when he received a call about the house fire and was told that there was a 3-year-old child inside. The 26-year-old deputy received the call around 11 p.m.

“God put me where I was supposed to be,” said Downs.

“By the grace of God I happened to be in the area when the call dropped,” Downs said. “It was one of the scariest things I’ve been on because I didn’t know if the child was breathing or not.”

A neighbor, Emma Sims, told KJAS that Downs and her son, Willie Sims, broke down the door of the house to rescue the child, but that after seeing the severity of the fire Downs reportedly pushed Sims back and charged into the burning house.

“I knew, if there is a baby in this house I want to put the baby first. That’s we do as a police officer, we put our training into action,” Downs said.

When Downs went inside the home he couldn’t see anything. Blinded by the smoke, he had to feel his way around the house until he got to the bedroom.

“You can’t give up,” he said he told himself. “You have to keep fighting until you get this baby out. She is your No. 1 priority. Get her out and then we will deal with whatever you got going on later.”

As Downs searched for the child inside the blazing building, he said he was relieved when he found the young girl alive inside the master bedroom of the home. Downs went to the bed and found the three year old under the blanket. The child reached out to him and started crying.

“[I felt] joy because I found the child and she was alive and she was breathing. And by the grace of God, you know, He put her under a blanket. I firmly believe that God wrapped a blanket around that child to keep her from getting injured,” he said.

“When I came out of the house I felt myself about to pass out, so I immediately handed the child off to prevent any further injuries from her,” he said.

As soon as he did that, however, he collapsed due to smoke inhalation. Both Downs and the child were rushed to a hospital and they are now recuperating.

A 5-year-old who was staying with his grandmother next door to the house that caught fire first told her about the fire. The grandmother then alerted authorities. Two other children who were inside the home escaped but were unable to reach the 3-year-old, Sheriff Mitchel Newman and Child Protective Services told News 4.

“You know that’s a blessing,” Jasper resident Larry Webb told News 4. “Thank God the kid got out.”