In 2013, Clay Kierbow saved Megan Winters from an abandoned well.
CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — A fundraiser was started for a retired firefighter who saved a 7-year-old girl from a well in 2013 by her family to support his fight against cancer and help rebuild his home that recently burned down.
It’s been 9 years since the incident, then 7-year-old Megan Winters slipped and fell, feet first, 50 feet to the bottom of an abandoned well in Whitesburg.
As soon as Carroll County firefighters arrived, they realized they had a problem – a 30-inch opening was too small for their team to fit through, except for one man – Firefighter Clay Kierbow.
Firefighters rigged up a pulley system with ropes and, an hour later, lowered Lt. Clay Kierbow into the well, and he gently pulled her out. She was severely injured from head to toe.
“The fact that he was so willing to go in without hesitation, with no concern or himself or his feelings,” Melissa Winters said, Megan’s mother. “To just go down quickly and get her and make sure she came back to us safely, that just means everything.”
Their story made national headlines, with many calling Clay a hero, but he said he was doing his job.
“That was the job, what I signed up to do, risk my life for others,” he said.
Clay retired from Carroll County County Fire Department after 20 years of serving in 2017, but in 2022 his life was back on the line. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.
“It just really gets you emotional because someone was so there for your family and so willing to help you and rescue your daughter,” ” Melissa said. “You’ve just got to do something for them as well.”
Melissa was already thinking of ways to help Clay through his cancer diagnosis when she found out his home burned down two days before Christmas. Seeing her daughter thrive after Clay saved her gives Mellissa the confidence that Clay can fight back too.
“She (Megan) came out so broken, so bruised and battered, but it could have been so much worse without the help of a local hero,” Mellisa said and added later, “How can you not do everything you can to help that family when they need it.”
An online fundraiser was set up to get the Kierbow family back on their feet.