Last Thursday, a husband and wife died tragically together in a house fire in Missouri when they became trapped. When the husband had a chance to escape, he didn’t. “I’m not leaving my wife,” he said.
Man Stays With His Wife in a House Fire: “I’m not leaving my wife”
Residents of Wentzville, Missouri are mourning the tragic loss of an elderly couple when the house caught on fire in the late night/early morning hours of Thursday, November 10.
Allegedly, an electrical fire took over the home and the St. Charles County Police Department and New Melle Fire Department were not able to get the husband and wife out safely.
Fire Captain Mike Colbert and firefighter Jeff Capstick entered the burning home to find the two 84-year-old residents. They knew from the dispatcher who had spoken to the husband, Kenneth Zerr, when he called 911 and reported the fire. He had told the dispatcher that his wife, who had used a wheelchair, was on the floor, and when encouraged to escape, he said, “I’m not leaving my wife.”
The flames, which had come up from the bottom floor reached the upstairs where the couple, who were married for 63 years, were at the outbreak of the fire.
Although Kenneth had been trying to help his wife, Phyllis Zerr, out of the home, she had fallen in the bathroom and could not get back up.
By the time the crew reached the home and entered, the floor was beginning to collapse, and firefighters tried to find the couple so they could help them escape. But they knew Kenneth had told the dispatcher, “I’m not leaving my wife.”
The firefighters did not have back-up and “heavy black smoke” made it difficult for them to find the couple and get them out before it was too late.
Fire Chief Dan Casey told the St. Louis Post Dispatch, They “were feeling around the bed, under the bed, on top of the bed…the floor started giving way so they had to back out. They made it out in the nick of time.”
Unfortunately, the firefighters weren’t able to get the elderly couple out and authorities believe they passed together at about 1:00 a.m. in their bathroom in their home at Tall Cedar Court in Wentzville, Missouri.
The local news covered the story here:
After the crew was able to put out the fire and went back into the home, they found the couple together, deceased.
The couple had celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary in September, and it’s clear that not even a fire could keep them apart.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, family members gathered at the home, supporting one another and speaking of the couple…
