Iguana jumps on firefighter's head to escape Corby blaze

[Bogertophis]

I couldn't resist sharing this: But note the cause of the blaze was "a faulty reptile heated mat in the living room"-

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-...shire-55590072

Iguana jumps on firefighter's head to escape Corby blaze

Published
8 January 2021


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IMAGE SOURCE,NORTHANTS FIRE AND RESCUE
Image caption, The iguana was carried to safety after jumping on top of a firefighter's helmet, the fire service said

An iguana escaped from a house fire by jumping on to a firefighter's helmet.


The athletic reptile's survival instinct kicked in when fire broke out at its owner's home in Whitworth Avenue, Corby, on Wednesday night.


As crews battled the flames, the iguana leapt to the safety of a firefighter's head, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said.


A spokeswoman said the crew member did not realize it was there, and the pet was carried away unscathed.


It was "a very unique incident - one that we have never dealt with before", she said.


"The fireman... didn't realize the iguana had climbed on top of him at first as he initially thought it was a colleague touching his helmet.



"What a surprise he then had to find this iguana chilling on his head, eager to escape the burning building."







Iguana fact file

• Iguanas are native to Central and South America and are tropical, arboreal lizards
• They can grow up to six feet (1.8m) in length and are herbivorous, feeding on jungle leaves, fruits and flowers in the wild
• Young iguanas need daily feeding whilst large adult iguanas may only feed two to three times a week on a diet consisting of, among other things, dark green leafy vegetables, carrots, tomatoes, melon and bananas
• A mature iguana can weigh as much as 15lbs (6.8kg) and the reptiles can be difficult to handle as they have razor-sharp teeth, claws and a lashing tail
• The athleticism of the iguana came to the attention of the world when a hatchling marine iguana was filmed narrowly escaping racer snakes in the BBC's Planet Earth II - the film won a Bafta award

Source: www.reptileexpert.co.uk




Posting a photograph of the iguana and firefighter on Twitter, the crew wrote: "One of [the] occupants couldn't wait to be rescued and jumped to safety to hitch a ride out!!"


The blaze, which took hold at about 23:40 GMT, was caused by "a faulty reptile heated mat in the living room", Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service concluded.

While there was some damage to the living room, the iguana was unhurt and there were no other injuries.

[Bogertophis]

I have to say, how chaotic is your job when you don't notice there's an iguana on your head-?!? Really glad there were no injuries anyway.

[Spicey]

I have to say, how chaotic is your job when you don't notice there's an iguana on your head-?!? Really glad there were no injuries anyway.

When you're already wearing at LEAST 45 lbs of gear, I doubt that a 10-lb. lizard is going to make much of a difference! 😎

[Bogertophis]

Oh, for sure. And fire-fighting IS super chaotic, but still, having an iguana leap onto a guy's head is pretty "special".

[Albert Clark]

Great story of survival instincts in animals! Sure he suffered some smoke inhalation but he looks like a big boy who can turn that around for the good.

[Bogertophis]

Thinking about the claws that iquanas have, it's actually very fortunate that the iguana chose a guy wearing a helmet to hitch a ride with. Otherwise that poor firefighter might be getting stitches to repair what a frightened iguana could do, just accidentally.

I have a hunch that the free-roaming iguana might have started the fire too- not on purpose, of course, but he might have moved the heating pad to where it contacted flammable materials. Uncaged & unsupervised large lizards in a home are an accident waiting to happen. They have also started fires by knocking over heat lamps.

[Albert Clark]

@ Bogertophis :
Certainly plausible! Good thing those helmets have heavy cloth attachments to protect the necks of the first responders.

[Bogertophis]

@ Bogertophis :
Certainly plausible! Good thing those helmets have heavy cloth attachments to protect the necks of the first responders.

For sure! Even though they certainly weren't designed with rescuing iguanas in mind.

BTW, I speak as one who has experienced a much-lighter & very playful (tame-not frightened) chipmunk running over my head...on multiple occasions.