'We've got to save her!'

NEW BRAUNFELS (KXAN) - The inside of Craig and Cathy Kneuper’s home is nothing less than a war zone after floods ravaged their home by the Guadalupe .

But after the two retired firefighters saved a little girl's life from the floods on Wednesday, none of that matters to them.

The Guadalupe River rose almost three feet on the first floor; all their furniture and belongings - destroyed

"But we're alive. That's all that matters," Cathy said. "Our dog, three cats and our lives. That's what it's all about."

It was early this morning, as the rains poured down, and the river crept up to their back doorsteps, when they went to check out the damage and the floods - when they saw the unthinkable.

"I looked out the back and saw this ... 11-year-old girl," Cathy said. "She was out in the river behind our house, and I screamed. 'We've got to save her.' We are retired firefighters."

Craig didn't hesitate.

"He jumped in the water, swam out and got her.”

Said Craig: "I was able to grab her. She was a brave little girl, strong. I screamed at her that she had to swim hard. And I swam out to her and got her and just got her back…it happened fast."

The young girl, who was wearing a life jacket at the time, had been swept downstream from a campground nearly 6 miles upstream. She had been in the water for nearly two hours.

"If she didn’t have a life vest, she wouldn’t have lived," he said. "If I hadn’t seen her then I doubt she would have made it because there was just so much debris in the water. I was getting pummeled with firewood coming up the eddy hitting me when I had her in my arms."

The girl's parents were also swept downstream.

"They stayed in the back of their pickup truck until their truck sunk in the river," Cathy said. "Then the mother grabbed on to a tree, and the father and daughter got separated."

"They just told her to be brave, and to just know that someone would rescue her. And with God’s help, he spoke to us and saw her and we rescued her."

Several other rescues happened. More than 100 calls poured in for rescues and evacuations as the fast-moving water caught many campers and residents by surprise.

But despite the loss of many of the Kneuper’s possessions, they're thankful some more precious valuables were saved.

"I don’t care about anything in my house," Craig said. "That she's OK is all that matters."

Added his wife: "And you know what? We're OK, too."