On cam: Raleigh couple meets firefighter heroes who saved their lives

Trapped in their bathtub by a blazing apartment fire, the couple truly believed they were going to die – until they heard the firefighters outside their door.

On Tuesday, WRAL News was there for a rare and beautiful moment – the moment this couple met their heroes and thanked them for saving their lives.

Sandra Kelly and her husband Andres Soto recall hugging each other close as flames and smoke closed in around them. English isn't their first language -- but when it comes to gratitude, there is no language barrier.

"I say thank you," Kelly said. "Thank you to everybody."

'They were angels:' Raleigh couple describes near-death experience as firefighters save them from burning apartment

The couple had called 911, but as the fire tore through their second-story apartment, they weren't sure help would get there soon enough.

When firefighter Dylan Short arrived on the scene, he heard the couple knocking on the door and shouting for help.

"That was such a huge relief, just knowing that they were still alive and talking," he said.

Short, a two-year veteran of the Raleigh Fire Department, made the first rescue of his career.

'I say, 'whoo, I feel something!' I say, 'thank you God,'" Kelly said.

Captain Josh Ellis, who has been doing this work for 22 years, says, "To have moment like this just make it all worthwhile."

Saving lives is what they all signed up to do.

"That's living proof right there, that everything we do day-in, day-out is for a reason," said Capt. Derick Cauthren. "It's scary sometimes, but you fight through it."

That's what a hero does – stand up to the fear.

Physically and emotionally the couple still has a long road to recovery, but they say meeting their 'angels' and thanking them provided a big step in the direction of healing.