Snakes Infested A $1.8M US Home & The Owners Burned It Down While Trying To Smoke Them Out

Most people don’t have a game plan for what they’d do if they found a snake infestation in their home, but fire would probably not be their (serious) answer.

Some Maryland homeowners accidentally inflicted US$1 million worth of fire damage to their home while trying to remove the reptiles that were living there, according to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

The home in Dickerson, Maryland, caught on fire on November 23 after the homeowners attempted to smoke out some unwelcome slithery houseguests, firefighters said.

The smoke was created using coals, which were placed too close to combustible materials and resulted in the house catching on fire, Pete Piringer, chief spokesperson for the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service, told CNN.

He says the fire started in the basement where the smoke devices were placed, and that it quickly spread up the floors.

The homeowner had created the setup to smoke out the snakes before leaving the house. A few hours later, a neighbour noticed the fire and called 911.

Seventy-five firefighters arrived on the scene at 10 p.m., and it took them a few hours to get the fire under control, the fire department said on Twitter.

It wasn’t completely put out until the following day.

The owners bought the house for US$1.8 million and the repairs will cost more than US$1 million, according to Piringer.

Piringer says there are better options for dealing with snakes before trying to do it yourself.

”There are animal services that can come out and make recommendations, or pest control, or an exterminator. We recommend you have professionals deal with any pest control issue to help maintain the situation,” said Piringer.

The fire department deemed the incident to be an accident and no one was injured.

They say it's still unclear whether the fire got rid of the snakes.