Exotic Animals Rescued

The angry, oxygen-deprived pythons demanded out. So did Malone, a 20-pound rhinoceros iguana. The scorpions, tarantulas and lizards just waited for Los Angeles firefighters, who rescued more than 150 reptiles and other creatures from the exotic pet shop that burned Wednesday morning in a Chatsworth strip mall.

No people were injured, but more than a dozen chameleons, geckos and turtles died in the fire that started shortly after 7 a.m. at Exotic Life, which housed many rare, expensive and nonpoisonous breeds.

Electrical problems were blamed for the blaze that gutted the store and melted cages containing red-tail boas and carpet pythons, authorities said. The teeth-baring snakes greeted firefighters who entered through the back door.

“They were looking right at me,” said Dwayne Kaster, one of the first at the scene. “And they weren’t too happy. They wanted out of the store.”

About 55 firefighters extinguished the blaze in 20 minutes, Los Angeles Fire Capt. Steve Ruda said. The fire caused about $100,000 in structural damage, authorities said.

“We’ve done CPR on cats and dogs, but where would you do it on a snake?” Ruda said. “Where would the heart be?”

Fortunately, Ruda said, cardiopulmonary resuscitation was unnecessary. Firefighters also did not need to worry about handling poisonous creatures because it’s illegal for a store to own or sell them.

“But the snakes did have teeth,” Ruda said. “The good thing was they were more interested in getting out of the store than lunch.”

Busy rescuing his animals, Exotic Life owner Phil Goerss declined to comment Wednesday.

Firefighters hoisted the slithering 30-pound pythons into a nearby dumpster until store employees and animal control officers gingerly moved them to glass tanks. They also hauled Malone into a narrow cardboard box, which the irate iguana shared with turtles.

“Malone doesn’t like turtles,” said Peter Rossingnol, a regular customer. The reptile, reportedly worth at least $3,000, swished his tail at his shelled neighbors.

Rossingnol said the 9-year-old, 4-foot iguana lives at the store and usually enjoys attention from humans. “He sits on your shoulders. He’s like a cat, only with sandpaper for skin.”

Rossingnol was one of three dozen customers and employees who gathered Wednesday to help care for the reptiles and fish. Many had patronized the Topanga Canyon Boulevard store since it opened in the late 1980s.

“Everyone is doing an awesome job,” said Kristy Lovegren, an employee who moved snakes and dumped koi and water turtles into aquariums.

The store’s wholesaler will provide temporary shelter for the animals, Lovegren said. “We’re lucky so many survived,” she said.