When crews from a South Carolina fire department would go on calls around their county recently, they noticed they were being saluted by a homeless woman as they drove on.
Eventually, members of the Parker District Fire Department in Greenville decided to see if they could return the favor of her support and offer a little help to Gay Booker, 62.
"I gave her a few items, tears started coming out of her eyes, and she just started giving me hugs," Chief Deputy Tom Thomas told WHNS-TV.
Thomas soon came back with more supplies, and Capt. Shane Walton used social media to try to find additional help for Booker. That post on Walton's Facebook page generated a huge outpouring of support, including responses from people overseas.
Later, Thomas and Walton would learn that Parker District firefighters had rescued Booker when her home had burned down in November.
"They were angels who came to my rescue," Booker told WHNS.
News of Booker's situation reached a South Carolina radio host, who set her up in a hotel. Now she's living there as more permanent housing is set up, according to the TV station.
