Dog rescued from debris days after Haymarket home explodes
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Investigators confirm gas leak led to Haymarket home explosion
Neighbors are picking up the pieces after a devastating house explosion and fire rocked their small community Tuesday evening. Fortunately, nobody was killed or even hurt but the power of the explosion is evident when you check out the scene 24 hours later — it’s a mess.
HAYMARKET, Va. - A dog thought to have died in a fiery home explosion in Haymarket last week was found alive Monday and rescued by emergency crews.
The Prince William Professional Firefighters posted on Facebook Monday morning saying crews from their 1st Battalion were called to the home in Haymarket, which exploded several days ago, after neighbors heard a dog barking from inside the rubble.
Firefighters worked diligently to free the pup from the collapsed home and were able to reunite her with her family.
"After an incredible story of survival, the dog is expected to make a full recovery from incident," the Facebook post read.
The massive explosion rocked the neighborhood just after 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
It’s believed that a crew at the home doing work to fix a water main break may have struck a natural gas line. Firefighters responded to the home on Colby Hunt Court in Haymarket just after 4 p.m. for the suspected gas leak and they evacuated the home and several others as a precaution.
Just over an hour later, the home was blasted apart.
Jarrett Struniak, who had recently moved into the home, watched in disbelief as crews battled the flames.
"Just getting routine maintenance done on the house — something that happens to normal people across America. You just never really think they're going to blow your house up," Struniak said. "I guess it's still more of a shock than anything. Just thinking about what steps could've been taken to prevent this, and us not being without a home that we literally just moved into. It's too much to take on at once."
Struniak was renting the home with his fiancée, their 3-year-old daughter, his best friend, his wife and their son.
He said the household included two dogs and three cats. Two of the cats remain missing but thankfully, first responders were able to save the pup that had been trapped for days in the debris.
Investigators have confirmed that the gas leak caused the explosion but it’s still not clear what caused the gas to ignite.
The families are being assisted by the Red Cross.