A Louisiana school bus driver being called a hero after rescuing children just moments before her bus burst into flames is crediting God for her protection. Kia Rousseve, a 28-year-old bus driver for Community Academies of New Orleans, saved nine kids on the morning of March 13. She told “Good Morning America” her quick-thinking actions came after the bus started acting strangely.

Rousseve said, “The bus started acting crazy and started jerking and going real, real slow.” She immediately pulled over — and that’s when she realized something was very wrong. She told NOLA.com, “My instinct is, like, ‘No, this is not normal.’ My instinct was, like, ‘Pull the bus over.'” That’s when a bystander ran over to tell her about flames coming from the bus. Rousseve quickly got the kids off the bus and to safety before she said it essentially “blew up,” according to GMA.

“I’m just happy and glad that God was with me and I got the kids off the bus and got myself off the bus,” Rousseve told The Guardian. The driver also shared her intention of remaining cool and collected during the ordeal — something she said she did for the children. Rousseve told GMA, “I just had to stay calm for the kids because there was crying and running up the street, and I had to get them together, you know, make sure they were straight. We could have lost our lives. That’s what I’ve been thinking a lot.”

She continued, “Every time I look at the pictures and like, wow, my seat was the first thing that caught on fire.” Rousseve’s employer is calling her a hero.“Her ability to stay calm in the face of danger, ensuring not a single child came to harm, is nothing short of heroic,” her supervisor reportedly said.