BARGERSVILLE, Ind. -- When firefighters are called to action, they know no two situations are the same. A recent fire in Bargersville still has the department talking.
It's something Bargersville Firefighters never expected to find inside this house.
"It ranks way up there top five easily," said Lt. Tom Tharpe, Bargersville FD. "It is very bizarre."
Who knew the first call of the year would turn out like this. Patrick Brandum was able to get out of the house okay, but his four animals were left behind and firefighters went in to find them.
There's the usual: Helix the dog and two cats. Then there's Piggy Sue, a pot-bellied pig.
"I was hysterical, worried about my dog and her; I could see her through the sliding glass door," Brandum said.
It was something that caught one firefighter by surprise when they searched the house.
"Is it the dog or the pig? And he didn't know anything about the pig being in there and he said, well, it's the pig!" said Lt. Tharpe. "It squealed quite a bit once we picked it up because of the tenderness and everything."
Once outside an oxygen mask was placed on the pig. Patrick's father, Brad Brandum, rushed over to the prized pet to help.
"There's the pig out in the yard with a blanket over it and an oxygen mask, so I took over holding the mask," said Brandum.
Despite everything that's happened, Piggy Sue is doing pretty well. She's expected to make a full recovery once the third degree burns on her ears and the second degree burns on her belly heal. She's still coughing up a little bit of that smoke. She's getting extra piggy pampering, including her favorite treat, popcorn.
The dog and the two cats are doing okay too, and Patrick only suffered minor scrapes. Firefighters believe an electrical problem caused the fire.
Republished with permission of WTHR-TV.
