JAMES ISLAND, SC – Firefighters trying to save a burning home walked into something they say they have never seen before, a garage full of dozens of snakes, many of them venomous. There was nothing firefighters could do to save the snakes and the family not only lost their pets, but also their home on Silver Leaf Circle in James Island.
Firefighters say the fire started in the garage around the breaker box. And they were shocked to go into that garage and find 50-80 venomous snakes.
James Island Fire Chief Chris Seabolt says, “It is shocking. It is definitely one for the books for us. It’s not something we normally run across. But luckily everyone was safe and once we found the potential of venomous snakes in there, we were careful to make sure we didn’t get anybody injured.”
When the fire first started, two people were inside, a mother and her newborn baby. They made it out safely. She called her husband to come home home and he was able to rescue the two dogs. However, because none of the firefighters could safely handle the venomous snakes, all but one died in the fire.
A neighbor, Debbie Hughes, says, “You see stuff like this happen on the news, but when it happens to a friend and a neighbor I really feel bad for them. My heart goes out to them and their children and their animals that were lost in the garage. That’s really terrible.”
The homeowner works in nuisance animal removal and keeps the reptiles as pets and breeds them.
His boss, Raymond Covington, came to the scene to help.
Covington says, “He had a few different styles of reptiles, lizards, some of your venomous reptiles, like your water moccasins, even had a cobra, some of your rattlesnakes species, and some turtles.”
Neighbors told News 2 the family has four children, including a newborn, and can’t imagine how the kids felt when they got home from school.
Hughes says, “When they come home and see their home and they have nothing to come home to, that’s very sad too.”
A carpet python did survive the fire and the homeowner told News 2 it was the only one he was able to pull out of the smoke. That snake is expected to be okay.
