LONGVIEW, Wash. -- An off-duty officer just happened to be in the right place at the right time to save a grandmother from a burning home in Longview.

Judith Duely, 77, didn’t even know her house was burning. She was just waking up inside when the flames started to engulf her garage early Saturday morning, authorities said.

Neighbors called 9-1-1 and officer Charlie Worley heard the report on the scanner. So he decided to stray from his usual route to work and swing by the burning home.

Worely knew he’d probably be late for his shift at the Castle Rock Police Department, but he felt drawn to check out the fire.

“The house was right around the corner and I could see the garage was fully involved in flames,” he recalled. “It was just unreal.”

When he realized that Duely was still inside the home, Worely kicked in the front door and found her.

“She didn't say anything, she just looked at me with a blank look on her face and I said, ‘we need to get out now’ and I just grabbed her and started escorting her out,” Worely said.

“I had no shoes, just my night gown and they literally picked me up,” Duely told KGW.

Neighbors took over from there and brought Duely into their home to help her.

Then, firefighters arrived and doused the flames.

“I'm glad it happened that I just happened to be there because who knows what would have happened if there would have been a longer response time,” Worely said.

Duely has had a very rough time recently and she felt touched that a stranger reached out to help her.

“I've lost my husband this year, I've had to have my cat put to sleep, now my house is gone and my car's gone but thanks to a terrific group of friends, I know I'm going to be all right,” she said.

The group of friends now included officer Worely.

“I've always wanted a guardian angel and now I know I've got to meet my guardian angel,” Duely added.

Investigators believe the fire started near a wall heater in the garage bathroom. They said this serves as an important reminder for everyone to be careful where they place their heaters as temperatures get colder this time of year.