Firefighters free pet snake

Firefighters were called to a property in Witham after a snake became wedged in an air vent. 

A woman in her 20s had put her adult boa constrictor into a temporary vivarium while she cleaned out its larger main vivarium. 

While it was in there the snake tried to get through an air vent and wedged itself in the hole.

When the on-call crew from Witham Fire Station arrived the snake had also wrapped itself around the lower part of the woman's arm. 

Firefighters placed a pillowcase over the snake's head and then worked to make the air vent hole bigger, to allow it to escape. They also helped the woman release her arm and made sure she was comfortable and uninjured. 

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Witham's firefighters are on-call firefighters who all live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station and are paid to attend all sorts of incidents. If you live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be an on-call firefighter. 

Find out more about the role at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call