Officer Ronald Williams was recognized for going above and beyond the call of duty when he saved a family from a burning home in June 2011. As Officer Williams received the award there was someone very special in the audience. "I was glad when I turned and I saw Miss Grant. That's what really made the award special was she was there," Officer Williams said. He's talking about Elsada Grant, the 96-year-old woman he saved from a fire in June. Officer Williams was at his Northside home during a thunderstorm and was off duty when he noticed flames coming from his elderly neighbor's house. "I ran next door and I bammed on the door, and I could hear little kids crying and screaming," Officer Williams said. "So that's when I kicked open the door and there was a young lady there holding the baby. She was crying." That was Grant's granddaughter and her three small children who were visiting from Orlando. Officer Williams rescued them first, but he still had to get to Grant. "I saw a ball of fire right beside me," Grant said. "I saw Miss Grant laying down between the kitchen and the living room area, and that's when I scooped her up," Officer Williams said. He made three trips into the house even though it was filled with smoke and the ceiling was caving in. "It would be hard for me to sleep next door knowing that someone had passed in a fire and I didn't do what I can do to get everyone out of the house," Officer Williams said. Because of Officer Williams' heroics, every member of the family was safe and unhurt from the fire. Grant moved to an assisted living community shortly after the fire, and Officer Williams hadn't seen her before the medal ceremony. It was her and her family's chance to say thanks. "It's hard to tell you how, the thanks we have in our hearts for Ron and his family because he really risked his life," said Pamela Samms, Grant's daughter. "(God) sent this young man to save us, to save the family," Grant said. In addition to the satisfaction of knowing that he saved a neighbor and her family, Officer Williams is also getting a $100 gift certificate to Ruth's Chris Steak House as a part of the award. The Medal of Valor award was the first given to a member of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office since 2007.