DICKERSON, M.D. (WNCN) – A $1 million home was left in rubble after a fire that was started by a homeowner who was trying to get rid of snakes, fire officials said.
The massive fire was reported last week in Montgomery County, Maryland, according to Pete Piringer, the spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.
The home had a large “snake infestation” and the homeowner was trying to use smoke to get rid of the snakes, Piringer said on Twitter.
The fire happened two days before Thanksgiving and leveled the home on Big Woods Road near Dickerson.
Piringer said the fire used for smoke was “too close to combustibles” and it spread throughout the home in the basement, walls, and floor.
Photos of the home show flames gutting the structure and little remaining except for a wall and chimney.
Any snakes that remained in the home were likely killed by the flames, but Piringer said the “status of snakes (is) undetermined.”
No one was injured.