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Megan Schnapp was already standing outside when firefighters evacuated her Haymarket home for a gas leak on Oct. 14. Fire crews opened the front door to let out their two dogs, but wouldn’t let anyone go inside.
One of Schnapp’s two dogs ran out, but the family’s rescue, 5-year-old Brandy, was secured in a room upstairs due to repairmen replacing a water pipe that day.
Schnapp doesn’t remember this, but a neighbor later told her she screamed “my dog, my dog!” as their house in the Piedmont community exploded – not long after the water pipe repair crew cut a natural gas line.
For six days, Schnapp and her partner Joshua Jeffries, who adopted Brandy when she was 8 weeks old, mourned their pet as they grappled with starting over after losing everything they owned in the explosion.
“There was a lot of grieving,” she told InsideNoVa on Monday afternoon.
On Monday morning, an insurance investigator was at the remains of the house in the Piedmont community when he heard a dog barking underneath the rubble.
Schnapp was there, too, and he asked if she had a dog.
“I said, no, she passed,” Schnapp said. But before long, they realized it was Brandy.
Firefighters were called and, after a 30-minute rescue, Brandy was back with her family Monday, apparently with just minor injuries.
“Truck 4 worked diligently to free the pup from the collapsed home, reuniting her with her family,” the local union, Prince William Professional Firefighters, said in a social media post. “After an incredible story of survival, the dog is expected to make a full recovery from the incident.”
It took the firefighters about 20 minutes using stabilization shoring techniques and “some good old coaxing” from Jeffries to free Brandy, who walked out on her own, said Prince William County Assistant Fire Chief Matt Smolsky.
“The guys got the tools out, we lifted what debris we could off the house and made a path of egress for the dog to get out. And then, at that point, it was just trying to get a really scared dog out from under the rubble,” said Lt. Mark Waldrop, a member of the team from Fire Station 4 in Gainesville that responded Monday morning.
Waldrop said the dog was acting timid, “growling and barking even at the owner.” They left Brandy alone for a bit to become adjusted to her surroundings before reuniting her with her family.
Schnapp and Jeffries were there for Brandy’s rescue, and could even see her and get close enough for Jeffries to feed her some ham.
On Monday afternoon, Schnapp and Jeffries were still at the emergency vet with Brandy, who had some minimal cuts and burns, but appears to be OK.
“Physically, she looks amazing,” said Schnapp, who was still overwhelmed to find out her dog was alive.
The house was totally destroyed in the explosion, which rattled Haymarket and sparked a two-alarm blaze that sent a column of flames and smoke into the sky. Jeffries and Schnapp lived there with their toddler and two dogs and another couple and their young child lived in the basement. That family had two cats that are believed to have died in the collapse and fire.
Schnapp and Jeffries moved into the house in March and said it has been an amazing community.
”We are so thankful for Piedmont, Haymarket and beyond for everyone’s support,” she said. “I’m so thankful no one was injured.”
She said her family has a safe place to stay and they are slowly working on rebuilding their lives.
“And now our family is complete again,” she said.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report.
