A beloved family dog was rescued from the rubble of a house explosion in Virginia after rescuers had come to believe she was dead, fire officials revealed.
Fire and rescue responders were dispatched to a home on the 5900 block of Coby Hunt Court, Haymarket – a town several miles southwest of Washington, DC – at 4:17 pm after reports of an outside gas leak on Tuesday 15. Upon arrival, a “gas line [was found] damaged and leaking” so the gas company was called to attend the scene – but only 30 minutes after they arrived, an explosion struck.
While nobody was injured, the home was completely destroyed – and three family pets including one dog and two cats were thought to have perished, WTOP news reports.
But days later, Brandy, a pit bull mix was heard barking and was spotted beneath the debris “in good shape” with her “tail wagging”, wrote PWC Fire & Rescue.
Gavin Morrison, a firefighter with PWC Fire Department told The Washington Post: “Once we heard the barking ... we knew she was alive. The way she was barking at us and her owners, she was just a scared dog.”
Brandy had survived for six days since the incident.
At the time of the explosion, a leak had reportedly still been active at the time, said the Prince William County Fire & Rescue System.
A private contractor was reported to have been replacing the water line to the home when the gas line was suddenly struck and ruptured. The gas reached an ignition source and an explosion followed, fire officials said.
Fire crews used a “simple floor jack” to shore up debris and create an escape tunnel, Waldrop told The Post. Persuading the frightened pet to emerge was a different matter that required “dog treats and deli ham” from neighbors, the outlet shared.
Firefighter Gavin Morrison told The Post that “there were definitely some tears shed.”
The PWC Fire & Rescue System wrote: “A family pet has been rescued. Earlier this morning, units were dispatched back to the scene of last week’s horrific house explosion for a report of a barking dog in the debris. Crews arrived to hear the dog under a portion of the collapsed structure.”
They revealed that firefighters managed to release the animal from the fallen debris after 20 minutes of maneuvering rubble by using stabilization techniques and “some good old coaxing by the home’s owner.”
When the pup emerged from the collapsed structure, rescuers said “she appeared to be in good shape and showed her happiness of being freed by rapid tail wagging.”
Last week, residents could see the smoke from the flames “up to three miles away [and] reported feeling their homes shake” when the explosion erupted, wrote WTOP.
Two families totalling four adults and two children were reported to be living in the property as confirmed by Matt Smolsky, Assistant Chief of the PWC fire department.
Two other properties near to the home that perished were also damaged, he said.
One of the homeowners, Jarrett Struniak, told WTOP: “Once … I heard the bang, everything else just kind of went quiet after that… It’s crazy how surreal and silent things go when you’re watching everything go up in flames.”
At the time, he said “I lost a 10-year best friend and 4-year-old cat that was very much part of our family.”
Neighbors were reported to have been evacuated at the time and up to eight homes were set to experience disruption to their gas supply, said the outlet.
Multiple ignition sources could have contributed to the event, the fire department said.
Natural gas can travel quickly when it passes through air and can alight when it passes an ignition source.
“It’s a great feeling to get the dog back to their owner, especially after they lost pretty much everything,” Waldrop added to The Post.
