A Fallbrook 'Quiet Hero'

There are many stories of the heroism from our firefighters and law enforcement who worked above and beyond the call to save both lives and homes in the Fallbrook Fires. There are also individual citizens who went above the call to assist in saving others properties as well. I wanted to present to you with one such “Quiet Hero.”

A young man I have known for over a decade exhibited the qualities of a “Quiet Hero” during the fires. His name is Chris Miller; he is 23 years old and he grew up here.

When the fires started, Chris decided he wanted to help those who could not help themselves – and he looked toward all of the animals. On Monday, he called three other friends and asked them to go with him. He took a horse trailer and first went to Wild Animal Park and helped (all day) to rescue the small animals that were kept there. During that time he (and his friends) tried to assist in stopping the mobile home fires, but when propane tanks started to explode they had to leave.

Tuesday he rescued horses from Palomar; Wednesday he went to the Sheriff’s Substation and asked if he and his friends could be of further assistance, at which time deputies gave his cell number to anyone who needed help with their animals. He was called by many people and he checked on and fed various animals.

Wednesday, having thought about the sheriffs and the National Guard and their work, he went to stores and asked for food and equipment donations. He then gathered volunteers and proceeded to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for more than 200 sheriff’s deputies and more than 500 National Guards from Wednesday to Saturday.

He did all of this because he loves his town and all that it has given him, and he felt he had to somehow give back with no thought of reward for himself. In my mind, Chris Miller is a Fallbrook “Quiet Hero.”

Frank Westall