LONG VIEW, N.C. --
A local family’s pet pig managed to escape their burning home on Monday morning.
The fire broke out around 4 a.m. at a home on 21st Street, near Second Avenue Northwest, in Long View. Part of the floor and the roof collapsed in the flames.
Moments after arriving at the scene, firefighters heard a noise that caught them by surprise.
“(I) heard a snort behind me and then turned around and there was a pig right behind me,” said T.J. Patton with the Long View Fire Department. “(It was) a little bit of a surprise.”
The pig, named Jimmy Dean, has grown up with the family and can open doors, including the one on the refrigerator. Those skills were put to good use Monday, when he escaped his pen in the basement and got out of the burning home.
“He kept hitting the fence and managed to work his way out of the structure,” said fire investigator Barry Sigmon.
The family is in the process of moving and was not home Sunday night. Samantha Bishop said Jimmy Dean is part of the family.
“He made it,” she said. “We've had him since he was a little piglet, so I'm happy he made it.”
Firefighters from four different departments fought the flames, getting them under control in about an hour. They haven’t yet determined the cause.
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