Officials Blame an 8-Foot Python Named Nanner for Virginia School Fire
An 8-foot python is taking the fall for a fire that broke out in a middle school in Virginia. But is the snake really to blame? Read on for the details.
Fire Department Blames Python for Starting School Fire
It has been a rough start to the school year in Bedford County, Virginia, after a fire erupted at Forest Middle School just before 1 am last Thursday. Local officials are blaming a python named Nanner for starting the blaze.
Teacher Brittany Jacobs is disputing the claim that her classroom snake is responsible for the fire that broke out on the second floor of the building. Fire crews on the scene recounted how they found Nanner hiding underneath a desk in the life science classroom when they responded to the inferno.
In a post on Facebook, Jacobs said that she was "devastated for many reasons right now — all of my teaching tools are now gone, many children will now not have the opportunities that many others have had, 18 years of teaching material is gone. I never wanted this for my school, my admin, or my county.”
Jacobs believes that the snake escaped from her tank after the fire had already started. She said that Nanner was simply trying to escape the heat that was building in the classroom, pushing on the screen of her cage so hard that the metal locks broke. According to Jacobs, it was so hot in the room that the tank next to Nanner's melted.
The teacher said that she originally went to college to become a veterinarian who specializes in reptiles. She has been teaching for 18 years, using her love of snakes as a tool in her classroom. According to Jacobs, she has never had an animal escape.
Crews responded to an alarm going off in the early morning hours. They arrived to find flames tearing through the second floor of the school with smoke filling the windows. The fire department was able to secure the snake until Jacobs arrived. Local officials confirmed that eight classrooms suffered water damage as the sprinkler system was triggered. It is also being reported that a tortoise was killed in the fire.
Jacobs confirmed that she has removed all of the animals from her classroom, despite her love of them. In a social media post, she said that “I am a firm believer that ALL animals change lives,” she wrote. “They offer something that people do not and that is unbiased, unconditional, presence for everyone no matter what has happened in their lives. Some teachers are into drones, some are into Legos, some are into computer technology … animals are my thing.”
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