Jogger Saves Sleeping Mother and Child From Burning Home in Florida

— -- A quick-thinking jogger is being hailed as a hero after recently saving a mother and her young child who didn't realize their house was on fire in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Natasha Carter and her little girl Isabella Messina were asleep Wednesday morning around 6 a.m. when a light fixture on their porch caught fire, ABC affiliate WFTS reported.

Runner Meredith Mikell told ABC News that she just happened to be trying a different route that morning, and she ran past the burning home by chance.

"I started pounding on a side door and yelling to try and get their attention," Mikell said. "I was worried someone might have passed out, and I wasn't sure what I would do if no one answered the door, but luckily the mom woke up."

Mikell said when Carter answered the door she alerted her to the fact that her home was on fire. The two then went inside the house to get Carter's daughter before escaping outside and calling 911.

Although they've never met before, Carter told WFTS that she couldn't thank Mikell enough for saving her family.

"If she hadn't down that, if she wasn't at that place at that time, there's no way of knowing how long we would have slept while it was still going on," she said. "I'm still a little bit numb, I think."

Steven Lawrence of the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue told ABC News that the fire started from a porch light fixture and spread to the attic. The department was investigating whether the fixture was faulty or whether there was an electrical wiring malfunction.

He added that firefighters had to drill holes into the ceiling to put their hoses through to put out the fire.

Carter and her daughter are currently staying in a temporary shelter with the help of a local Red Cross, Lawrence said.

Carter did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for additional information.