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Passerby saves 12 people from house fire
The rural road that links Garrison to Brainerd rarely provided much excitement, until Marvin Schmaltz spotted trouble while driving to work Friday morning. "You could just see the black smoke coming from the back of the house," he says. "I turned around and then you could see the flames." Schmaltz called 911, then knocked on the door, unaware if anyone was inside. No one answered, so he went in and immediately spotted two young kids. "They started crying and hollering for mom," Schmaltz says. "One little kid took me downstairs to her room to get her out. ... He's probably the hero." Those weren't the only people inside this relatively small house. Schmaltz also spotted a couple people who were tired and tough to awaken. "I ended up dragging one guy out because he didn't want to wake up," Schmaltz says. "So I just drug him out." A couple of other people reportedly jumped out a window. On all, 12 people -- ten adults and two kids -- were sleeping inside the home, firefighters say. While the house could not be saved, all of the people escaped, thanks to Marvin Schmaltz. "Pat him on the back," says Brainerd's assistant fire chief Kevin Stunek. "Today there's probably 12 people alive because of the actions he took." Schmaltz doesn't like to be called a hero. "I would do it anytime," he says. "It's just one of those things that more people should do." The people renting the home had a small party Thursday night, which is why so many people were staying over. Garrison fire chief Bruce Breun says they left the bonfire burning overnight and an ember likely sparked the fire. The people who lived there lost everything. The American Red Cross did put them up in a hotel for a few nights.
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