ESCONDIDO - A man idolized by many turned the tables and played the role of fan Tuesday, calling firefighters, law enforcement officers and others who worked the front lines of the October wildfires the real heroes.

San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson directed his comment to about 700 first responders and emergency workers at a lunch the football star and his wife, Torsha, hosted at Kit Carson Park.

Tomlinson's nonprofit LT Foundation sponsored the private event as a way of recognizing and thanking the guests for their life-saving efforts during the fires.

The mood was relaxed and happy as first responders from multiple agencies throughout the region filed into the park's amphitheater wearing their uniforms, street clothes or San Diego Chargers jerseys with Tomlinson's No. 21 on them.

Several dozen officials from Escondido, Poway, San Diego, San Marcos, Ramona and other local communities also attended.

Some guests brought along children; others carried cameras or footballs and other items they hoped to get Tomlinson to autograph.

Everyone who attended was treated to slices of Oggi's pizza and nearly two hours with Tomlinson, affectionately known as LT to his own fans.

With Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler and Poway Mayor Mickey Cafagna doing master of ceremony duties, representatives of several cities' fire and law enforcement agencies were called to the stage group by group, as those organizations were recognized. The San Diego Sheriff's Department, the county, state and federal fire agencies, and emergency volunteer and local animal rescue groups also were honored.

Tomlinson clearly gave audience members their biggest thrill, though.

The football star and his wife were among the roughly half million San Diego County residents who were ordered to evacuate ahead of the flames, as numerous firestorms raged across the region the week of Oct. 21.

In the Tomlinsons' case, the couple's north Poway home was threatened by the Witch Creek fire as it whipped into the city in the early morning hours of Oct. 22.

Sporting an open-necked blue and white checked dress shirt, gray slacks, and his signature diamond stud earrings, the running back recalled his reaction to a 3 a.m. evacuation order.

"To be honest with you, the first thing I thought was, 'Now, why are they waking us up? I gotta work in the morning,'" Tomlinson said. "When I walked to the window and looked outside, the sky was orange. And that's when I really started to get scared."

The football player said he had no time to grab any of his Most Valuable Player trophies or anything else as the couple scrambled to get away from the flames. Even as they left their house, sheriff's deputies, firefighters and other emergency responders were rushing into the neighborhood and going from door to door to make sure everyone got out, he said.

Upon his return home, Tomlinson said, he found that the trees around it, the tiles on the roof and his outdoor furniture had burned. The house itself was fine, he said, calling first responders' efforts amazing.

"You think, 'Here are the real heroes,'" said the football player. "All we (athletes) do is entertain and try to set an example. But the firefighters and sheriff's (deputies), the doctors, the nurses, the teachers - you guys are the real heroes."

Escondido Fire Department inspector and investigator Alphonso Dobynes was part of a strike team working in the San Pasqual Valley as the Witch Creek fire swept through on its way to Escondido, Rancho Bernardo and Poway.

"It's nice that firefighters and all the emergency services are being recognized for what they did," Dobynes said Tuesday. "For myself, I was at work while my home was in danger. I got the call from home (in Rancho Penaquitos) that we were being evacuated. But there was nothing I could do cause I was right in the middle of the fire zone."

Gloria Austria, manager of a clinical laboratory at Pomerado Hospital, which evacuated about 300 patients because of the fires, said she, too, appreciated being recognized by Tomlinson.

"For him to come out here and do this for all of the first responders tells us that he has a great heart, too," Austria said.

Tomlinson gave away an autographed football, a signed football helmet, a 42-inch, flat screen television and other items during the event. After it ended, audience members crowded around the running back, vying for his autograph.

Cameron Olson, the 9-year-old son of Escondido police Officer Vonnett Olson and her husband, Kevin, who is a sergeant with the San Diego Community College District Police, was one of a couple of dozen people lucky enough to secure signatures.

"It was so nice," Vonnett Olson said of the event as her son beamed down at a Tomlinson trading card mounted on a plaque that boasted a newly added "LT" in thick black ink. "Everybody's been so awesome, really. Even during the fires, I was so pleased with the way people were cooperating and helping each other."

- Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.