Teacher says 8-foot python blamed by officials for Virginia school fire is innocent

Firefighters battling a blaze at a Bedford County, Virginia, middle school encountered more than just smoke. Hiding underneath a desk in a classroom was an 8-foot python that fire officials now say started the inferno.

But a life science teacher who took ownership of the snake, named Nanner, has hit back at those claims, saying the fire was an accident and was not hers or anyone else’s fault.

“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 in a Facebook post. “I never wanted this for my school, my admin, or my county.”

She insists Nanner broke out of her tank after the fire already started and fled the classroom to escape the heat.

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

Jacobs, who works at Forest Middle School, said in her post that she went to college to be a veterinarian, specializing in reptiles, and has been a teacher for 18 years.

She said she uses the animals in her classroom as a teaching tool.

“In those 18 years I have never had an animal escape or have any lights/heat emitters cause any fire damage,” she wrote.

Jacobs and the school did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Crews were called to the school just before 1 a.m. on Thursday for a report of a fire alarm going off. Firefighters arrived to find a fire on the second floor, water flowing down, and smoke in the windows, the Forest Fire Department said in a Facebook post.

As crews made their way into a second-floor classroom, they were met by the python. The fire department said crews safely secured the snake until the owner arrived.

Video shared by the department showed the large snake underneath a desk.

Crews shut down the sprinkler system and eventually put out the fire. The department said eight classrooms suffered water damage.

The Fire Marshal’s Office told WDBJ that they believe the fire was started after the python escaped its cage and knocked over a heat lamp.

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

The news station also reported that a tortoise was killed during the fire.

Jacobs said she’s always had reptiles and other animals, including snakes, frogs, turtles and tortoises, in her classroom.

“I am a firm believer that ALL animals change lives,” she wrote. “They offer something that people do not and that is unbiased, unconditional, presence for everyone no matter what has happened in their lives. Some teachers are into drones, some are into legos some are into computer technology … animals are my thing.”

Jacobs said she has since removed all the animals from her classroom.