Two tortoises died from smoke inhalation after knocking over their incubator lamp while trying to mate, and destroying the conservatory where they lived.
The Daily Mail reported that the lamp, used to heat the conservatory where the two tortoises had been hibernating, set fire to wood chips, destroying the conservatory and damaging a nearby garage.
The tortoises, Henry and Alice, had recently woken up from hibernation. It is thought that Henry had been chasing Alice around the tortoise lair and must have knocked the lamp over while doing so.
Their owner, Alf Clayton, praised the Cleveland Fire Brigade crew who extinguished the fire in Thornaby, Teeside, in a matter of minutes. The firefighters said the tortoises would have perished from smoke inhalation and would not have suffered.
Perhaps pets need protection from fire as much as people do.
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