DUDLEY, Mass. - Jacqueline Carter was just buying a scratch ticket at a Dudley store the night of March 24 when she noticed a home on Brandon Road was on fire.

After seeing the smoke, she decided to go help.

"I didn't think about it," said Carter. "I had just turned 40 the day before. My mom would have been 60 that day. Unfortunately, she passed unexpectedly four years ago. And I had said that day, I would love to do something for someone."

Carter went in the house, but wasn't alone. She, along with three others, saved a woman from the burning building. 

"There was no vision, no clearance of anything," said Carter. "So, I said we got to go now because I didn't know what the outcome was going to be of course."

Joining Carter for the life-saving effort was Dudley Police Officer Ryan Daniels, Charlton Police Officer Timothy Bullock, and Anthony Fitzherbert. The group was awarded the District Attorney's Team Excellence and Merit Award Wednesday for their actions.

"They all showed courage, poise, and incredible intestinal fortitude to go back in," said District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.

Fitzherbert was in the process of becoming an on-call firefighter for Dudley when the incident happened. At the time, he was a volunteer firefighter in Connecticut and lived not even a block away.

"We heard her calling," said Fitzherbert. "I wasn't giving up that time. Went in, we both came down. Unfortunately, we both took a ride down the steps. I'm just glad that Officer Bullock and Officer Daniels along with everybody else that was outside was able to help pull her across the street."

Fitzherbert would get the on-call position in Dudley. If a situation like this happened again, he said he would without a doubt do it again, and he's thankful he had some help that night.

"Times like these, I'm glad that there was a huge crowd around her trying to help everything as EMS was on the way," said Fitzherbert. "It's just something remarkable to see."