Dog saves owners from mobile home fire in Riverdale

Firefighters are crediting Karyzma, a black German shepherd-mix, with saving her owners from a fire in the couple’s mobile home in Riverdale, Weber County, on Saturday, Aug. 24. After jumping on the bed to alert the homeowners, the dog apparently ran to a back bedroom where it stayed, and ultimately succumbed to the smoke and fire, officials said, | Natalie Wesley

RIVERDALE, Weber County — A couple is alive Saturday because of their dog.

“They’re very lucky that dog woke them up,” said Riverdale Fire Capt. Matt Hennessey.

He said a fire started somewhere in the center of the couple’s mobile home, 4375 S. Weber River Drive, at about 3:45 a.m. Saturday. Half of the home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and it took about 20 minutes for the five assisting agencies to get control of it, Hennessey said.

After jumping on the bed to alert the homeowners, the dog apparently ran to a back bedroom where it stayed, and ultimately succumbed to the smoke and fire, Hennessey said.

“If it weren’t for their dog waking them up, they’d be dead,” said neighbor Jacob Williams. “I’d say that’s a really good dog, in my eyes.”

Williams and his wife had given the dog, a black German shepherd-mix named Karyzma, to the couple, as it was “a little too hyper for our kids,” he said. The neighbors were grateful the dog had given its life for their friends.

Mobile home resident Natalie Wesley was distraught following the fire. Williams said he was glad her kids were not at the home Friday night when the fire broke out.

The American Red Cross assisted Wesley and her boyfriend, as their mobile home was uninhabitable after the fire. Hennessey said crews were boarding it up and the home was ordered to be demolished. The cause of the fire was still under investigation.

“The smoke detectors did not activate ... we’re not sure why that is,” Hennessey said. “The dog definitely was the reason they woke up and were able to get out of that house.”

One of the occupants was treated for smoke inhalation at the home and no one else was injured.

The two adjacent mobile homes, however, Hennessey said, did sustain damage from the fire.

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