It was literally only last week that the cousin of Betty Murrell, 77, reminded her about how she was almost lost in a fire at their family’s Alabama home when she was just a baby.

“Other family members had told me years ago, but I had forgotten about it,” she said, describing the story of her grandmother yelling that they had to go in and literally save Murrell from her crib.

“It hadn’t registered, (but) God saved me in a fire to save other people in a fire,” she said.

Five months after the Palisades fire, during which Murrell played a pivotal role in transporting a busload of senior residents to safety, she is contemplating what divine purpose was on hand. She continues to wonder what fate spared her life at the last minute 77 years ago so that she, in turn, would have the opportunity to help others escape the dramatic events of Jan. 7.

Last month, Atria Senior Living, for which Murrell is a fulltime bus driver, honored her with a hero award for the work she did to get a dozen memory challenged seniors away from their facility in Pacific Palisades as the raging fire was literally creeping upon them next door.

“I’ll be honest with you,” she said, “I did not know it was right next door. It was like God kept me in this realm of just being focused, and I just focused.

“The residents did not know what was happening,” she said, due to their various cognitive issues. “They did not realize there was a fire in the area.”

Murrell, who moved to California in the 10th grade and calls Tarzana home, has had a unique career that included driving an 18-wheeler truck.

“I really only did that for about a year and a half because they only allowed three days out of the month for the driver to be home,” she said. “I was starting to lose touch with my family … so I started driving city busses (in) Orange County and then L.A. Metro.”

Eventually, after some time off, Murrell realized she wasn’t ready for retirement, so she began as the onsite driver for Atria Hillcrest in Thousand Oaks.

The days leading up to the Palisades fire saw the anticipation of drama, as Murrell was asked to be on call at a couple of different locations in the event that wildfires necessitated evacuations. Per her job description, she was aware that in the case of an emergency she was considered a first responder, so she knew that being asked to get people out at the last minute was a possibility.

“When they dispatched me to the Palisades, it was the most eery feeling driving there,” she said, “to see all of the cars going in the opposite direction. Outside of emergency vehicles, my bus was the only vehicle going in the direction I was going.”

As she proceeded toward the town and the Atria’s location at 15441 West Sunset Blvd., Murrell and her 12-seater bus were redirected multiple times due to roadblocks.

“I did not know where I was going,” she said. “I really didn’t … I ended up in a Gelson’s parking lot and I looked across the street and there was Atria.”

While she had seen billows of dark smoke to the north heading in, her attention now focused on the staff helping to get everyone packed up, gathering light sandwiches and necessary items for the evacuation.

“By the time we were ready to board, the fire was right next door to Atria,” said Murrell, who was grateful to be focused on helping the residents rather than fixating on the fire burning literally across the way.

“They were all memory care residents (with) dementia, Alzheimers, and some were wheelchair confined … We boarded everybody on the bus,” she said, including two staff members.

The ride out of the Palisades was equally dramatic, with Murrell focusing on getting out along Sunset Boulevard and adjacent side roads, finally reaching Santa Monica. One of the scariest facts, she said, was noting that night while watching the news, that the same section of road she had managed to drive out on was overcome by the fire a short time later, and that people had to abandon their vehicles.

“Betty is our hero,” declared Terri Harmon, regional vice president with Atria Senior Living. “Lives were saved because of her.”

“She was truly heroic in a time of crisis,” she said. “She stayed calm, caring, confident, strong and brave.”

Harmon described Murrell as a warm and humble individual who sets a great example for everyone around her.

“Betty treats our residents like family, offering not just care, but deep kindness and respect that make a lasting impact,” Harmon said.

Murrell demonstrated that humility in talking about the incident, for which she was given an award and a one-week paid vacation to Florida.

“I was just doing my job,” she said. “I know that sounds cliche, but really that was just what I was doing.”

Murrell has asked herself on more than one occasion why she has survived the adversity she has, including a bout with cancer, and what divine purpose there is in her journey.

“When I came back to work, when I came here to Atria, I found my purpose,” she said.

“My purpose is to not allow the people here at Atria to feel that they’re not alone,” Murrell said, “to let them know that they’re loved … That we’re here for them and that they’re important to us in this community.”

“When we go through hards times, when we encounter hard times in our lives, there are blessings in those things,” she said. “You may have to look for the blessing, but the blessing is there.”

Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.