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A Fort Dodge man who rescued two teenagers from a burning house in Badger last summer will receive the Governor's Lifesaving Award with Valor today.

Dan Davis is to receive the honor at 10 a.m. today on the Budweiser Stage at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.

Davis, 31, said he'll be there, albeit humbly.

"I don't deserve - they were more friends than just neighbors," he said Thursday. "It was doing more for friends than just for a house."

Kevin Edwards, the father of the two teenagers whom Davis rescued, said words can't express the gratitude he and his wife, Peggy, feel.

''If he hadn't come over and got them up, they wouldn't be here,'' he said

The fire occurred during the early morning hours of June 16, 2008. At the time, Davis and his family were living in Badger.

According to an award announcement from the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Davis was awake that morning, caring for his then-2-month-old daughter. He noticed that the Edwards' home and garage were ablaze.

''Without hesitation, Dan dialed 911, passed his daughter to his wife, then ran to the burning home,'' the department reported. ''He pounded on the door with no answer before entering the Edwards home. By this time, the split-level residence was almost completely consumed in flames.''

According to the department, Davis crawled into the house and found the teenage Edwards children, Hannah and Max, asleep in their bedrooms.

''Fighting the thick black smoke, he helped the two teenagers escape from their burning home,'' the announcement states.

"I've got to give my wife some credit," said Davis, referring to his spouse, Lana. "We were both up feeding our daughter. It sounded like fireworks outside... We knew the two kids were home alone, so I ran over there and woke 'em both up."

Edwards said his children slept through the sound of the home's smoke detectors.

On the morning of the fire, Edwards, a member of the 133rd Test Squadron of the Iowa Air National Guard, was on active duty in Des Moines, working to combat rising flood waters. Peggy Edwards was also in Des Moines at the time.

Following the fire, members of the Fort Dodge-based squadron nominated Davis for the lifesaving award.

"It's nice to know they have awards for things like this," Davis said.

The father of three - Laynee, 1; Lily, 4; and Rylee, 8; - said it was a learning experience about fires.

"You can learn a lot from a simple little fire, how bad it can get. If it wasn't for our daughter, I don't know what would have happened," he said. "She was part of saving their lives, I guess you could say."

Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net