Firefighters in suburban Houston got quite a surprise when they responded to a house fire Saturday: snakes.
"A dog or a cat, that's one thing," Lt. Bobby Matthews with the Caney Creek Fire Department told KTRK-TV. "But a snake, that's a whole other animal."
Firefighters discovered more than 100 snakes and lizards inside the home, including pythons and boa constrictors, Fire Chief Raymond Flannelly told CNN.
"Not sure how many lizards we found, but the snakes were large enough to give anyone crawling through a smoke-filled house a heart attack," Flannelly said, adding that luckily, none were venomous.
It was all in a day's work for fire crews, according to a Facebook post by Caney Creek Fire and Rescue: "Things firefighters have to deal with, even if you don't want to!!"
Although most of the reptiles were in glass cases, firefighters still had to carry the animals out of the burning home.
It’s unclear why the residents have so many reptiles.
"The homeowner wasn't willing to give a lot of information on why they had so many snakes. In fact, they told us the snakes don't like people in uniform," Flannelly told CNN. "But as firefighters, we will do anything to help."
Not all the snakes made it out alive, according to KTRK, but the ones that firefighters were able to rescue are expected to be fine.
The fire, which was caused by a Christmas tree, caused extensive damage to the home, but the family is grateful that most of their pets, including two dogs, made it out alive.
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