(Photo by Russ Mitchell) A Tuesday morning fire swept from an unattached garage to the Tom Gross family home about six feet away. The garage was a total loss and the house sustained severe fire damage.

Daily Reporter Staff

"I was pretty shocked," Greenville-area farmer Tom Gross said. "We had only been gone a half-hour or 45 minutes and came home to this."

Gross was referring to what is left of his house -- about seven hours after it was fully engulfed in fire -- on the family farm about halfway between Greenville and Gillett Grove.

None of the five members of the Gross family were at home when faulty wiring in a freezer may have sparked the fire on the west side of the family's garage.

By the time a passing motorist called for help at 9:08 a.m. Tuesday, the garage was already consumed by flames and the house at 2555 440th Street was beginning to burn.

Dickens Fire and Rescue Chief Randy Whalen said a south wind gusting from 14 to 32 mph carried the fire from the double unattached garage, to the home about six feet to the north. It took more than four hours to get the fire under control.

The garage is a total loss and the house suffered severe fire damage. The property damage could exceed $200,000.

Whalen's department was assisted by the Webb Fire and Rescue Department and the Clay County Sheriff's Office.

"We had a great turnout," Gross said. "I didn't get a count, but I was very, very impressed with the way everybody got here and went to work. It was very impressive. I didn't think anybody could get here in time to save any of it. There was no 'what do I do,' or 'what do you do' or any of that. They knew what to do."

Firefighters mounted what Whalen calls a defensive outside attack to slow the fire burning on the house. The emergency crews then went inside to stop the fire in the attic and the south end of the home.

The house is still uninhabitable, and perhaps unsalvageable. Gross said he hasn't decided where his family will stay, saying "I don't know what we're going to do for right now. It hasn't really sunk in yet what all I do have to do. We've had plenty of offers, though."

Gross and a few area residents gathered at the farm chuckled when he was asked if he plans to rebuild at the same location. Though the house may have to be rebuilt, it seems understood that Tom and Lynette's sons, Mitchell, Nicholas and Christopher will grow up on the family farm.

Being near the soil that provides for the family is one reason. The way of life in northwest Iowa, where neighbors help neighbors, is another.

"We've had people bring food already," Gross said. "There have been houses offered to stay in, clothing brought already -- it's incredible."