DAILY RECORD (York, Pennsylvania) 26 November 05 Ball python, cat rescued from apartment fire (Mike Argento) {Excerpts}
Brian Widmayer was at work at the 911 call center when he heard a fire call for 32 E. Seventh Ave. in North York.
The address sounded familiar.
It sounded like the address of his brother's apartment building. He called his brother, Tom Allison, who was out of town visiting relatives for the holiday, and learned that was indeed his brother's address. Allison asked Widmayer to do him a favor.
He asked Widmayer to rescue his 6-foot ball python, Ivy, and his cat named Chicken Little, from his first-floor apartment.
Widmayer left work and went to the scene. A short time later, he was walking out of the apartment building, carrying a long stick. Coiled at the end of the long stick was Ivy. Chicken Little followed a short time later, being carried by a firefighter.
He planned to put the snake in a dog crate in his home in Dover until his brother returned to town.
"He's had that snake for years," Widmayer said after loading the reptile into a waiting van.
The fire, which started in the bathroom of a second-floor apartment, did not result in any human casualties. Three cats belonging to the upstairs occupants did not survive, though.
…
The fire was accidental and was caused by somebody being careless with matches, Knadig said.
Ball python, cat rescued from apartment fire