An iguana died in a house fire on Coopers Lane in Leyton E10 yesterday (Tuesday 8 May). Fortunately the iguana’s owners were not in the house when the blaze broke out. The fire caused extensive damage to the ground floor of the house.
There were no working smoke alarms in the flat but neighbours were in at the time, noticed the smoke and called the Brigade. A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade said: "If you've got smoke alarms, please test them regularly to make sure they work. There were two alarms inside this house but neither was working. Had the smoke alarms worked, someone might have noticed the fire sooner. As it was, the fire was quite bad when our crews arrived and there was significant damage."
The Brigade’s fire investigators carried out an investigation and believe that the fire may have been caused by a faulty thermostat on the heat lamp used to keep the iguana warm in its tank.
The Brigade was called to the fire at 1611 and the fire was under control by 1703. Three fire engines and 15 firefighters attended the incident. They were from Shadwell, Homerton and Dowgate fire stations.
