Officials Blame An 8-Foot Python For VA School Fire. Its Owner Says Not So Fast

BEDFORD COUNTY, VA — Firefighters responding to an overnight fire at a Bedford County middle school encountered an unexpected obstacle when an 8-foot python greeted crews as they entered a burning classroom, according to officials. Some are wondering if the python started the fire, but its owner is adamantly defending the reptile's innocence.

Crews with the Forest Fire Department initially responded to the blaze at Forest Middle School around 12:45 a.m. on Aug. 13. When crews arrived, they found water flowing from the second floor, visible flames and smoke coming from windows.

Subscribe

As firefighters made their way through heavy smoke and entered the classroom where the fire was located, they encountered the large snake.

Firefighters safely secured the python in a temporary holding area before extinguishing the blaze. The snake's owner later arrived and returned it to its enclosure, according to the department.

Smoke spread throughout portions of the first and second floors in two wings of the school, requiring additional ventilation equipment. Eight classrooms sustained water damage, and Bedford County Public Schools brought in cleanup contractors.

While the Bedford County fire investigator is determining the cause of the fire, some local residents have wondered whether the python was the culprit.

"Aaaand the snake escaped, knocked over the heat lamp, and started the fire," one person wrote under a post on the Forest Fire Department's Facebook page. "Who had snake arson on their 2026 bingo?

"Ssnarson," another replied.

"Questions need to be answered...........," a third person wrote.

The Fire Marshal's Office told WDBJ-TV that it believes the fire was started after the python escaped its cage and knocked over a heat lamp.

"The snake contributed to starting the fire. However, I don't think there was any maliciousness involved on the snake's side," the fire marshal said.

Now, the life science teacher whose classroom caught fire and who claimed ownership of the python is defending the snake, saying it escaped its locked enclosure only after intense heat forced it out.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Brittany Jacobs said all snake enclosures were locked when she left school before the fire, and that heat fixtures were secured.

In 18 years of keeping reptiles in her classroom, she said she had never had an animal escape a locked enclosure or a heat source cause fire damage.

Jacobs said surveillance video showed the python, Nanner, leaving the classroom about 20 minutes after the fire became visible. She later found both metal locks on Nanner's enclosure had been forced off and stretched.

"She pushed on the screen so hard to get out that she bent the metal locks," Jacobs wrote. "She left the room because it was so hot in there. So hot that it melted the tank next to hers."

Another classroom animal, a tortoise named Bowser, died in the fire.

All surviving animals have since been removed from the school and are staying with Jacobs while being monitored for respiratory problems.

Their removal also eliminates a major part of her science instruction, Jacobs said. She used the animals to teach genetics, ecosystems, reproduction and other concepts while giving students hands-on experience with animal care and safe handling.

"I am devastated for many reasons right now — all of my teaching tools are now gone, many children will now not have the opportunities that many others have had, 18 years of teaching material is gone," Brittany Jacobs said on Facebook. "I never wanted this for my school, my admin, or my county."