Franklin Park firefighters rescued more than two dozen animals from a burning house Wednesday.
In all, 29 animals were saved, including ferrets, dogs, cockateels, land turtles, iguanas, a bearded dragon, a snake, water turtles, cats and a rabbit, said Fire Cmdr. David Traiforos.
When they arrived at the scene, firefighters had no idea that animals were trapped.
“They were a surprise to us,” Traiforos said. “The (occupants of the house) said, `Please get our pets out,’ and we figured it would be one or two. But as the firemen advanced through the house, they kept running into cages and tanks in every room.”
The firefighters quickly formed an animal-rescue “assembly line.”
“A fireman just picked up a cage or a tank and ran it to the front, then handed it to the next guy to take outside,” Traiforos said.
The rescue’s highlight was when the firefighters discovered a large snake tank, Traiforos said. The container was too heavy to lift, so firefighter Carl Schylur of the Schiller Park Fire Department just reached into the tank, picked up an 8-foot boa constrictor and carried it out.
“It was on the second floor, and he had to carry it down the ladder,” the commander said. “He said it was no different from carrying a fire hose. The other guys just stayed out of his way.”
The family–a mother, her two daughters and their grandmother–reported the fire at 8:45 p.m. The house in the 2800 block of North St. Louis Street was destroyed, and the commander estimated about $250,000 worth of damage.
A few birds died in the house, Traiforos said.
The fire probably started in the basement and spread to the attic, he said. There has not been a ruling on the cause of the blaze.
The Red Cross has placed the family in the Residence Inn in Schiller Park. The animals are being housed by neighbors, by the Franklin Park Animal Hospital and the Chicago Zoological Society.
“(Family members) were very happy that they got their animals back,” he said. “They seemed to disregard the fact that they lost their house. The animals are their prized possessions. They’re what these people are thankful for.”
