Tortoise rescued after it set house on fire
A TORTOISE was rescued by firefighters after it set a house ablaze on Christmas Day.
The reptile knocked a heat lamp on to its bedding, which caught alight.
The homeowners were not in, but the incident set off the smoke alarm, alerting neighbours at around 4.50pm.
After they rang 999, the fire rescue service arrived to find the house, near Uttlesford in Essex, full of smoke.
Searching for the cause of the fire, they found and rescued the culprit, which was still in its enclosure.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, then cleared the property of smoke. Gary Wain, the watch manager at the time at nearby Great Dunmow fire station, said: “The fire started after the tortoise knocked a heat lamp on to its bedding, which then caught alight.
“This shows just how important it is to have smoke alarms on every level of your home – even if you’re not home, they will alert anyone close by to the first sign of fire.
“This tortoise has had a very lucky
Christmas Day – he is 45 years young and will now hopefully continue to live a long and happy life thanks to smoke alarms.”
The fire service said the tortoise looked “angry”, writing on Facebook: “This 45-year-old tortoise might look angry but it’s his lucky day. After he set his bedding alight, his neighbour heard the smoke alarm and called us.
“Our on-call crews left their families to go extinguish the fire and gave him a very merry Christmas.”
Christmas Day often sees a spike in house fires as people use candles, indoor fires and fairy lights, which are all a potential hazard. There is a 12 per cent rise in call-outs on Dec 25 compared with the monthly average.