The Henrico, Virginia, Fire Department saved a truckload of piglets — more than 1,800 in total — from overheating after a breakdown on I-295, turning on the hose to help the piglets beat the heat, with the department confirming that the truck ended up needing an emergency tow and that te piglets were alright in the end.
For background, on July 14, 2025, a truck carrying over 1,800 piglets on the way to Iowa broke down, causing the pigs to overheat and become stressed. In response, the Henrico County Fire Department sent a truck down, and the firefighters ran the hose to cool the piglets down.
When a clip of a firefighter hosing down the piglets and helping them cool off was shared online by the Breaking 911 X account, commenters celebrated — but some were confused. An X user with the handle Kyle wrote, “Doesn’t that hurt him?” He was met with a slew of responses: “Probably not as much as dying of heatstroke could,” one user wrote. Another chimed in, “He’s actually saving their lives.”
Moreover, some X commenters pointed out that the firefighters were going above and beyond. The X user Mr. B. wrote, “Pigs can’t sweat, he probably just saved all of them.” Another account added, “Small mercies matter. Bless those who showed them compassion today.”
In a similar vein, a group of firefighters reportedly saved a group of piglets from a massive barn fire in the U.K. back in 2017, and they were subsequently rewarded with sausages made from the piglets six months later. Rachel Rivers, the manager of the farm that caught fire, told BBC News, “I’m sure vegetarians will hate this.”
Predictably, the firefighters’ enjoyment of the sausages was met with backlash from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who said that the piglets were “no better off” after being rescued from the fire. A spokesman told BBC News, “We’ll be sending Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service packs of vegan sausages so that they can see how easy it is to truly be heroes for pigs – by sparing them all suffering.”
However, Rivers responded to the criticism by saying that she had given the pigs “the best quality of life I could ever give until the time they go to slaughter and go into the food chain.” She added, “You do feel sad at the end of it… but to bring them down for [the firefighters] was a good way of saying ‘thank you.'”
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The story of the British firefighters eating sausages made from the piglets they rescued took a darkly humorous turn when the Pewsey Fire Station posted a photo of their barbecue online, which they later removed, citing backlash from commenters. “We recognize that this has caused offence to some,” they wrote.
Watch a Henrico firefighter save the pigs:
WATCH: Firefighters work to cool 1,800 piglets after truck breaks down on Virginia interstate pic.twitter.com/i83V1XVSFB
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 15, 2025
Featured image credit: video screengrab