Python Accused of Starting School Fire That Killed Tortoise and Damaged Classrooms, Teacher Defends Her Snake

After a fire started in the middle of the night at Forest Middle School in Virginia on August 13, killing a tortoise and damaging eight classrooms, officials have now named the suspected culprit: an 8-foot python named Nanner and a heat lamp. As for how the python got into the classroom in the first place, the teacher for that class, Brittany Jacobs, kept it and other animals in the room.

Jacobs has denied that Nanner is responsible for the fire. She stated in a Facebook post, per reporting by People, “In my 18 years of teaching I have always had reptiles, of many different types, in my classroom. […] In those 18 years I have never had an animal escape or have any lights/ heat emitters cause any fire damage.”

However, authorities seem certain. As the fire marshal explained to WDBJ 7, “The snake contributed to starting the fire. However, I don’t think there was any maliciousness involved on the snake’s side.” (Just like there was no maliciousness on the snake’s side in the 2024 ball python convenience store heist in Tennessee.)

Officials allege that the fire was sparked when the python somehow escaped its cage and knocked over a heat lamp.

When the fire department reached the school, they found heavy smoke on the second floor. Upon entering Jacobs’ classroom, they found Nanner on the floor, as evidenced by a video the department posted to Facebook of the encounter. In the video, the python can be seen slithering on the ground beneath what appears to be a desk — a much better alternative than if it had escaped into the roof, like in this house in Zimbabwe.

Firefighters secired Nanner safely in a holding area until the snake could be placed back in its proper home once the fire was out.

Jacobs’ Theory Differs

Jacobs refuted the authorities’ explanation. In her Facebook post, she wrote that when she left the school that day, all of the snakes in the classroom were safely locked in their tanks. She also stated that not only were all the heat lamps and other light fixtures secured, but the heat lamp that officials blamed “was something that could not be easily knocked over.”

Her theory on why Nanner was outside its tank differed, too, as Jacobs believed the python didn’t escape until the room became unbearably hot, escaping one for survival.

However the fire occurred, Jacobs lost almost 20 years of teaching materials. Cleaning crews have been hard at work removing soot and trying to repair the damage, although it might take up to a month before Jacobs’ classroom is usable again.

Jacobs explained, according to People, “I am devastated for so many reasons right now. I have overwhelming guilt that an exorbitant amount of money is going to have to be spent to fix all of these things, even though this was an accident and not mine, or anyone else’s ‘fault’.”

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