Fire destroys home of St. Patrick Parish family

Courtesy photo/Gutierrez family

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The Gutierrez family, parishioners of St. Patrick Catholic Church, lost their home in a fire at the end of January.

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan. 31 was no lazy Sunday morning for Andy Gutierrez. The  Judge Memorial Catholic High School student woke about 6:30 a.m. with a weird feeling. Getting out of bed, he left his room and saw that the house was on fire.

Realizing that his mother and sister were sleeping, he ran to wake his mother, Kelly. Both started screaming.

“I woke up hearing ‘Fire, fire!’” said Andy’s sister, Ruby, a student at the University of Utah.

Andy helped Ruby and their mother get out of the house. Andy then ran back in to rescue one of the family’s two dogs. He also was able to retrieve his cell phone so that he could call 911. Unfortunately, the other dog, Patty, didn’t make it out of the home.

“Andy was a hero that day; he saved our lives,” Kelly said.

The Gutierrez family, who are parishioners of Saint Patrick Catholic Church, started praying. Watching as their home burned, they saw an unusual shape in the flames.

“As the recovery was starting to happen, we took a picture of a large orb, and we think the Holy Spirit was with us that day,” Ruby said.

The house was a total loss. With nothing except for what they were wearing, the Gutierrez started a journey that they would have never imagined. Andy, who is a member of St. Patrick Parish’s youth council, shared the news with his friends. Anthony Martinez, the parish youth leader, and the pastor, Fr. Anastasius Iwuoha, learned of it, as did members of the parish’s Knights of Columbus.

“Father called my mom, and offered to help,” Ruby said.

When the call went out, parish members responded with donations to a GoFundMe account. The Knights also began collecting donations of clothes and money.

The family lives a couple of blocks from the church, and “St. Patrick’s has always been our family’s second home away from home,” Ruby said. “We are lucky that in these times of need the parish and others have been there for us.”

“We are just grateful to be able to support them; they are a church family and it is important to help them,” said Susan Lindsay, St. Patrick Parish secretary.

The Gutierrezes are very touched by all the help they have received, Kelly said; for now, they are sheltering with a family member in North Salt Lake.

“We are living day by day. ... We know that we are part of God’s plan and we are very fortunate to still have each other,” Ruby said.

The Gutierrez are in need of clothes. They have established a GoFundMe account available through St. Patrick’s Facebook page. The parish is also accepting donations for the family; for information, call 801-596-7233.