Corrections Officer Alerts Weber County Family To Burning House

TAYLOR, Utah – A Weber County corrections officer was on his way to work when he noticed smoke rising from a house.

Lieutenant Joshua Marigoni was on his way to work Tuesday when he noticed the smoke. He stopped to check on the residents, Carl and Georgene Smith.

The Smiths have lived in their Taylor home for over 20 years, but they said they’ve never before experienced anything like what happened that morning when they met Marigoni.

“He come walking up my driveway, and I come walking out,” Carl recalled. “I didn’t know there was a fire at that time.”

It was when Lt. Marigoni was on his way to work at the Weber County Jail that he said he noticed something was wrong.

“As I pulled up, it was a lot of smoke coming out of the roof and out of the attic vents,” he said.

Georgene Smith said Marigoni came to the back bedroom where she was sleeping.

“He said, ‘You’ve got to get outside. Your house is on fire,'” she said. “I grabbed my dogs, and off we went.”

Mike Anderson KSL
Published by Mike Anderson · Just now ·
Here's a brief look at Carl Smith's reaction, when a Corrections Lieutenant, just passing by, happened to notice his house was on fire. How Smith and his wife say the deputy saved their lives, on @KSL5TV at 6. pic.twitter.com/1b8Cm2HWuj

— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) January 9, 2019

Three adults, five dogs, and five cats were inside the home. All got out safely.

Marigoni said firefighters were quick to respond, and several neighbors stopped by to check on the family.

“I figure anybody else that works here would have done the exact same thing,” Marigoni said. “I just figured that’s what we’re here to do, and when we’re given that opportunity, we need to jump in and we need to help.”

The Smiths said Marigoni saved their home, and possibly their lives. The roof and ceiling were burned, but can otherwise be repaired.

“He must have been our guardian angel, because we couldn’t smell any smoke, or anything,” Georgene Smith said.