University of Virginia Library

Pig Roast Ignites Apartment Fire
As Throngs Feast On Smoked Porkers

Photo By David Hunt

Preparations for a porquie feast turned to disaster Saturday
afternoon in the worst such fire since the London Piggie-Roast
Calamity of 1606. Charlottesville Fire Department quickly
doused the flames and damage was slight.

Heat generated by an outdoor pig
roast resulted in heavy fire damage
Saturday to the apartment house against
which the fire was built. The four
University students who occupy the
house reported little personal property
damage, however.

The pig roast, which was to have been
lunch for the members of Delta Upsilon
Fraternity, was built against a two story stucco
house at the rear of 127 Chancellor St.

According to the Charlottesville Fire
Department, the house which is owned by
Thomas Chandler was set on fire when heat
which radiated from the roast penetrated the
wall and ignited the inside structure. The flames
spread up the structural supports of the
building and ignited a larger area in the attic.

The Fire Department, which responded with
two engine companies and one truck company,
opened the roof to disperse the heat and
quickly brought the fire under control.
According to a Department spokesman, the fire
was extinguished within forty minutes.

Bob Vaughan, a member of the fraternity,
said that even though the fire started quickly,
the pigs were rescued and later cooked in the
Delta Upsilon ovens. Reports indicate that the
quality of the pigs was not impaired by the
interrupted roasting.

The amount of damage to the apartment
house has not been determined at this time.