GEELONG ADVERTISER (Australia) 05 April 08 Leopold man smashes window to rescue pet snake (Aleks Devic)
A Leopold man jumped inside his burning house yesterday to save his water python snake.
"The house was burning and I was crying because I thought she was gone in the fire," Mr Anderson said.
"I was so glad when I got to her and she was OK I was just worried about her."
Bellarine police Sergeant Adam Betson said the fire started in Carmichael Court, Leopold, about 4.30pm.
"There was no body injured but the house and contents are extensively damaged," Sgt Betson said.
"The fire investigator who attended the scene is yet to determine what caused the fire although it is not deemed as suspicious."
Neighbour Luke Annett was among the first on the scene and said the fire threatened the home next door.
"I got home from work and saw smoke bellowing out and I raced over to see what was going on," Mr Annett said.
"The fire jumped on to a tree and I thought it was going to go on the neighbours house so I tried put it out."
When he saw how quick the fire was burning through the house he pulled the family's two-wheel trailer off the property and hooked up his 4WD and towed out the family's car from the driveway.
"I thought I'll at least try and prevent the car being burned too," he said.
People flooded into the court and watched about 20 fire fighters tackle the blaze with the thick smoke clearly visible from the Bellarine Hwy.
Firefighters took more than two hours to put out the flames, which destroyed the entire house.
Meanwhile, a fire which caused about $50,000 damage in East Geelong yesterday is being treated as suspicious.
The blaze destroyed a bedroom of the McDonald St home and caused smoke damage throughout the whole house.
Geelong City fire officer Simon Scharf said a dozen firefighters tackled the fire which was reported at 7.15am.
It took 10 minutes to contain. Mr Scharf said the home was occupied but nobody was home at the time.
Leopold man smashes window to rescue pet snake