Peabody fire victim meets Firefighter Rice's mother

PEABODY, Mass. -- A new mother from Peabody paid tribute fallen Firefighter James Rice who rushed to save her burning home but sadly, died battling the fire.

“There’s going to be a hole in my heart forever,” Elaine Rice, Firefighter James Rice’s mother, said.

A small piece of Elaine Rice's heart died the day her son, Firefighter James Rice, was killed.

But on Thursday, Elaine found a bundle of joy on the other side of her door. Lisa Jaber came to meet Elaine with her newborn daughter.

“I don't think she’s a stranger because of what has happened, and that Jimmy was in there trying to save anyone that was in the building,” Elaine Rice said.

Firefighter Rice died fighting the flames at Lisa Jaber's home. She was 9-months pregnant and frightened.

“It was terrifying. It was sad, it was scary, it was emotional,” said Jaber.

After attending Rice's funeral, Jaber knew she'd name her baby after a hero.

“Bella Rice Jaber,” Jaber said.

“He was leaving this world at the same time she was coming into it. He gave his life to save our home and it just didn’t work out that way,” Jaber said.

Tragedy brought the two mother together, but now it has given them both a reason to smile.

“You'll always be part of our family,” Jaber told Elaine Rice.

“She's making my son's death be something of not just a tragedy, but something good to come of it,” Elaine Rice said.

Firefighter Rice would have been 43-years-old on Monday.

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