Crews contend with 19 pythons at Utah trailer fire

[January 04, 2010]  ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) -- 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 Thursday morning at an RV park in town.

Once the fire was put down, Checketts and firefighters began pulling out snake after snake, most in cages and some up to 18 feet 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 Capt. Jason Whipple says the accidental fire started with a heat lamp in one of the snake cages.

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Information from: The Spectrum, http://www.thespectrum.com/

[Associated Press]

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