MONTVERDE, Fla. — A week after a Montverde house fire that Lake County firefighters said is potentially arson, Spectrum News 13 heard from the man who ran into that burning house, saving two elderly men.

There are people who would call Aaron Maners a hero, but he says he’s just an average Joe. 

"I tried to do the right thing," he said of his actions during the fire. "I relied on my training and acted on it — I think the majority of people would do the same thing."

He works security at a Clermont private investigations agency, a job he says he fell into.

He was on-duty last week when the call for the house fire came in, and when he arrived, he said an elderly woman came out of the home with a small dog and fell down int he front yard. When Maners asked if anyone else was in the home, she said there were two men inside — that’s when he says he went into action.

"When my foot hit their property, I said, 'Jesus I need you,'" he said. "That was the most sincere prayer that I’ve ever prayed — maybe the shortest prayer I’ve ever prayed. But I believe with all of my heart that I was protected for what was at hand."

But once Maners got inside, all he could see was black smoke and had very little air to breathe.

"I dropped down to one knee in order to look, that’s when I saw the man’s leg in the hallway," he said.

Soon he saw another older man, but as he got closer to them he said he saw that they were both holding oxygen tanks.

"I know enough about combustible materials that you don’t want to be holding oxygen tanks in a fire," said Maners.

Carrying both men and their oxygen tanks out of the house, he said he got out without even a scratch. 

"I have a gigantic respect for any of the first responders who do this day in and day out," he said while rewatching dash cam footage from that night. "This is their normal life, this is their office, this is their job."

The cause of the fire is still under investigation — Lake County fire investigators said it may be arson.

Officials said the two men Maners rescued were still in the hospital, but their conditions were not immediately available.