Rescuers moved cautiously last Monday, slowly removing sheetrock, lumber and roof shingles from the wreckage of what six days prior had been a home in the Haymarket, Virginia, area. From under the rubble, a constant stream of noise confirmed that a live rescue was their purpose. “Once we heard the barking, and we knew she was alive,” said Gavin Morrison, a firefighter with the Prince William County fire department.
“The way she was barking at us and her owners, she was just a scared dog.” Six days after a gas explosion toppled the home, residents and neighbors led firefighters from Truck 504 in Gainesville to free Brandy, a pit bull mix who somehow survived under a pile of what appeared to be an interior wall, fire officials said. “She was lucky that she was in a space that was tenable and she was able to survive for six days without food or water,” said Lt.
Mark Waldrop, who created a plan to safely extricate the dog. The explosion happened Oct. 14, more than an hour after firefighters responded to the 5900 block of Colby Hunt Court for an outdoor gas leak about 4:25 p.
m., officials said. Nearby homes were evacuated before the explosion, and no human injuries were reported.
Investigators said a private contractor ruptured the gas line while replacing a water line to the home. Nearly a week later, rescuers arrived at the remains of the structure where the dog had been barking. The crew used “a simple floor jack” and shored up debris as it created an escape tun.
