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Schwartze to be honored for heroic acts in Howard County house fire

Justin Addison, Editor/Publisher
Posted 9/7/22

Missouri Capitol Police chief Zim Schwartze will be presented with the Missouri Public Safety medal for heroic life-saving or extraordinary acts beyond the call of duty for her role in trying to save …

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Schwartze to be honored for heroic acts in Howard County house fire

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Missouri Capitol Police chief Zim Schwartze will be presented with the Missouri Public Safety medal for heroic life-saving or extraordinary acts beyond the call of duty for her role in trying to save lives involving a rural Howard County house fire in February 2021.

Governor Mike Parson will present 23 medals today to fire responders. The Governor will award, for the first time, Missouri’s new Red, White and Blue Heart Award to first responders severely injured in the line of duty. Three of the Red, White and Blue Heart Awards will be bestowed posthumously. The Governor will also present four civilians awards for exceptional acts to assist first responders and the public during 2021.

During the afternoon of February 10, 2021, 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 Schwartze was passing by the house and stopped when she saw the fire. Both began banging on windows and knocking on doors.

Schwartze 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 Fayette fireman Bryan Kunze. “Zim and Jeff did great things. There were a lot of heroes that day.”

Schwartze will be awarded the medal for her efforts to save the lives of two men during the fire. Five dogs were also rescued.

The house, along with nearby cars, was completely destroyed in the fire.

The ceremony will be streamed live on the Missouri Department of Public Safety page: facebook.com/MoPublicSafety.

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