Kansas City, Mo. ? Watching firefighters and National Guardsmen save his home from the Southern California wildfires gave Donnie Edwards a whole new perspective on that overused word “hero.”

“The firefighters did such as wonderful job. They had their backs up against the houses, fighting the fires,” said the Kansas City Chiefs’ star linebacker.

“It was unbelievable. Those guys are heroes for sure, to put themselves in harm’s way to save a stranger’s home. It’s incredible. Those guys are awesome.”

Edwards, a San Diego native, played five years for the Chargers before signing this year with the Chiefs. He was at his home in Kansas City when he was awakened by the telephone at 4:30 a.m. Monday.

“They said, ‘San Diego’s burning,”‘ he recalled.

The Chiefs were just starting their bye week so he and his wife, Kathryn, headed west. But before they got there, his neighborhood was put under a mandatory evacuation, so they went to Los Angeles and nervously waited for permission to come home – and hoping there would be a home left.

Edwards’ home is in a gated community in Rancho Santa Fe, and he kept calling the security guard for updates.

“He said, ‘There are houses burning. You can’t come in.’ We just kept hoping and hoping.”

Finally, the security guard told Edwards that he, too, was getting out.

“All we could do was sit back and hope and hope. We didn’t have a chance to get anything out,” he said. “We kept thinking about keepsakes and things we might lose. I have a big World War II collection. I kept thinking I might lose it.”

Finally, he was given the OK to come back. His home and all the contents, thanks to the firefighters, the National Guard and a fortuitous shift in the fickle California winds, were fine. But many other homes in his neighborhood were gone.

“The firefighters did an awesome job. There were firefighters from all over California,” Edwards said.

There was even a fire truck in his driveway from the Oakland area. Ironically, the Chiefs had just beaten the Raiders.

“The firefighter didn’t know I played with the Chiefs. He looked at me, he said, ‘Aren’t you …?’ I said yeah. He said, ‘You just beat my Raiders!”‘

Now Edwards is back in Kansas City getting ready for Sunday’s game against Green Bay.

“A lot of people got affected by this. A lot of families got displaced. People lost their homes. It just puts everything into perspective,” he said.

“Where I live, it’s a pretty nice neighborhood. When they broadcast on the news that my neighborhood was being evacuated, I thought some people might see that as an opportunity. But the National Guard was there to close the streets off. They wouldn’t let anybody get in, not even residents.

“When things like fires are in your vicinity and affect you, you really get a better perspective. You realize how important people like that are. There are bigger things than football.”