Extra fire hazard

Crews responding to a trailer fire in southern Utah had another factor to contend with: snakes. Kristeen Checketts, the animal control officer in St George, says there were about 19 pet pythons in the trailer when it caught fire at a park for recreational vehicles. Once the fire was put down, Checketts and firefighters began pulling out snake after snake, most in cages and some up to 5.5m long. Checketts says 11 survived. The snakes' owner tried to revive another by massaging it and blowing into its mouth through a plastic pipe. Fire captain Jason Whipple says the accidental fire started with a heat lamp in one of the snake cages.