Detroit mother says she's "thankful" for firefighters who saved her son

( CBS DETROIT) — National First Responders Day is Monday, and it provided the perfect backdrop for one Detroit mother to thank a pair of firefighters.

Jasmine Nesbitt's 1-year-old son might not be here today had two firefighters not braved the flames that scorched their home back in January.

On Monday, she met the two men who saved her son's life for the very first time.

Javion celebrated his second birthday this year, and his burns from January's fire remind him of how lucky he is to have reached this milestone.

"Just to jump into action and save my baby I'm very, very, humbly thankful that the right people were there at the right time," said Nesbitt.

Lt. David Howard and firefighter Travis Winter reconnected with Javion for the first time since they saved his life.

"He was there on the floor. I felt him. His heart was heavy. I grabbed him. We went back out the way we came in while Winter continued to keep the fire off of us. It was more or less, he fought the fire, I did the search, and we came out," said Howard.

Rescuing people from life-threatening situations is something that just comes with this line of work, Winter says.

"It was like a lot of ones. It was just really hot and dark; you couldn't see nothing," he said.

What truly puts their work into perspective is the reunion between this team and the young boy who likely wouldn't be here had they not walked through fire to save him.

"We decided to do a job to protect citizens. That's our reward. Everything that we need comes from us doing our job," Howard said.

These two brave first responders will receive the Medal of Valor for their heroic acts at this year's Above and Beyond Awards, which will be held on Nov. 13 at Ford Field.