Piglets rescued from fire become firefighters' BBQ

A crew of firefighters who worked through the night to put out a farm fire has received an unusual reward - sausages made from a litter of piglets they rescued from the blaze.

Back in February, a malfunctioning cable in a barn started a fire at a Wiltshire farm managed by Rachel Rivers and her husband Andy.

The fire rapidly spread over the hay bales stored in the barn, which was also home to 18 frightened piglets and two sows.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Firefighters from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire braved the flames to reach the porkers before they turned into crispy bacon.

"They were huddled in the corner, and then the firefighters rescued them and moved them to a safe barn," Rachel Rivers told This is Wiltshire at the time. "One of the sows had their ear burned but otherwise everyone is fine."

The crew then remained at the farm through the night until the blaze was extinguished.

"I wanted to thank them," Rivers told the BBC. "I promised them at the time I'd bring down some sausages for them, which they were all pleased about."

Six months later, the moment arrived to send the now-grown pigs to the slaughterhouse - and the farmers didn't forget their promise. A package of sausages soon arrived at the Pewsey fire station, where appreciative firefighters promptly threw a barbecue.

Rivers acknowledged that her unusual thank-you gift might look macabre to animals lovers. "I'm sure vegetarians will hate this," she said, adding: "We farm and this is what we do. You can't keep them as pets."

Indeed, the tale proved divisive on social media, where Twitter users were either horrified or amused at the porkers' fate:

A spokesman for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service thanked the farm for their "generosity", adding: "We can tell no porkies, the sausages were fantastic."