Zim and Jeff did great things. There were a lot of heroes that day.”

Bryan Kunze

A family lost their home and a good samaritan lost his life during a house fire Wednesday, February 10, in rural Howard County. 

Sometime during that afternoon, the house, owned by Warren and Dottie Gerlt and located on State Route W in the southeast section of the county, caught fire. A 61-year-old Armstrong man, Jeff Cross, noticed the fire as he was driving past the house. He stopped and called 911. About that time another passerby, Zim Schwartze, stopped when she saw the fire. Both began banging on windows and knocking on doors.

Schwartze, who is the Missouri Capitol Police Chief, entered the home and found one man asleep in the basement. When the two emerged from the house, they found Cross lying in the driveway unresponsive. Howard County Sheriff’s Deputies performed CPR until fire crews arrived. The firemen also tried to revive Cross. They deployed an automated external defibrillator (AED) but were unable to resuscitate him.

Cross was later pronounced dead at the scene, presumably from a heart attack. Due to another emergency and a patient transfer, two of Howard County’s three ambulances were unavailable to respond to the emergency. About an hour after the initial call, an ambulance arrived.

“Hats off to our Sheriff’s Deputies,” said fireman Bryan Kunze. “Zim and Jeff did great things. There were a lot of heroes that day.”

The fire reportedly started in the garage and spread to the rest of the house through the attic. Crews from five stations responded to the call. The extreme cold temperatures caused further complications as water valves and hoses froze while crews battled the flames.

“Everything just went to hell in a handbasket,” Kunze described.

Eventually, the fire was brought under control. Some items were able to be saved from the house, and five dogs were rescued.

Later that night, the fire rekindled and burned away the remaining structure, leaving only the basement foundation. Even cars parked beside the house were destroyed.

Five members of the Gerlt family were living in the home at the time of the fire. The family lost everything. Commercial Trust Company in Fayette is collecting donations for the family. In addition, a GoFundMe account was established. As of Tuesday morning, $5,235 had been pledged of the $5,000 for which had been asked.