Thursday, 4:30 PM
Cambridge pet store fire kills at least 25 reptiles
(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent
At least 25 reptiles died and another 50 to 75 fish are fighting to survive after an overnight fire ripped through a Cambridge pet store that had been spray painted with graffiti that said: "No more exploitation of animals."
Fire officials are still trying to determine how the fire started and if it had been intentionally set. The two-alarm blaze tore through Boston Tropical Fish and Reptile store on Monsignor O'Brien Highway shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday night.
The dead animals included six geckos, five fire belly toads, four king snakes, three boa constrictors, three arrow frogs, two wood turtles and an emperor scorpion.
Firefighters rescued a menagerie of creatures, including five turtles, three blue-tongued skinks, two snakes, two bearded dragons, and two fire belly toads.
The windows of the two-story, red brick store were blown out during the fire. This afternoon investigators were sifting through the wreckage.
