(Tribune News Service) — Over the weekend, Navy veteran Perry Gooch from Center Star in Lauderdale County, Ala., rescued his neighbor from an explosive house fire in what he said was an act of “divine intervention.”

Gooch was walking in his front yard in Lauderdale County on April 11, earlier than he said he would normally be out and about, when he noticed his neighbor Bobby standing in front of her house, which was partially engulfed in flames.

Gooch said he immediately ran over, knowing that Bobby was in serious danger as soon as the flames reached the propane tanks inside the home.

“I’m ex law enforcement, ex-military, so it just kicked in,” Gooch said.

“I ran over and grabbed her, trying not to hurt her, and swiftly took her to the north side of the house.”

As soon as they were about 40-50 ft. away from the window Bobby had been standing at, Gooch said he heard a big explosion, “like a small bomb.”

“The front window blew out debris about 15 feet and the front door landed 8 feet from the house,” he said.

“So, if we would have been standing there, it might have been a different story.”

Bobby and her 60-year-old son who lives with her were able to make it out of the fire unharmed and are staying with family for the time being, Gooch said.

“She didn’t have any insurance, so we’re trying to help her out financially right now to start over,” he said.

“She’s got dementia, and her son is in bad shape too.”

Bobby’s granddaughter, Morgan Parker, has started a GoFundMe in an effort to help.

“She’s owned this house for 40+ years and had no insurance,” Parker wrote.

“More was lost than could ever be replaced. Our goal is to be able to provide both of them with fresh start.”

The page has raised over $1,300 so far.

The house also held a lot of sentiment for Gooch as the home he grew up in in the early 80s.

After leaving Center Star to enlist in the Navy over three decades ago, Gooch said he was always waiting for a chance to come back to his roots.

He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1994 after having both of his knees replaced, and said he frequently drove through the neighborhood over the years waiting on a home to go up for sale.

“This is where we rode bicycles and three wheelers and go karts and swing sets back in the day when kids played outside,” he said.

“So, when God made it possible that the house across the street from where I was raised became available, I jumped on it with both feet.”

After retiring, Gooch said his life’s purpose now is helping his community.

“I’ll trim their shrubs; I’ll go up sometimes in the morning and take folks to breakfast and stuff like that,” he said.

He said he believes that every step that brought him to rescuing Bobby, from buying his current house to being in the yard a little earlier than usual, was all part of a bigger plan.

“I was just a tool,” he said. “I’m not a hero; I just did what I was supposed to.”

The Florence Fire Department is currently investigating the cause of the fire, according to representatives.

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