Firefighters were rushed to a blaze started by a tortoise, managing to rescue the reptile and its canine companion from a flat.
The fire broke out in a south London flat on Thursday, after the tortoise knocked over a heat lamp in its enclosure, setting alight its bed of hay, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.
Crews attended the scene at London Road in Mitcham after they received a call. They were able to save the tortoise from the fire, alongside a black dog belonging to the same owner, who was hiding from the blaze under the stairs.
The LFB sent crews from Mitcham, Wimbledon, Tooting and Wallington to tackle the fire. After returning the pets to their owner at 11:40am, they were able to bring the flames under control by 12:22pm.
Pictures from the aftermath of the scene show crew members smiling and posing with the pets, with the flat understood to be only lightly damaged by the fire.
A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade said: “A mischievous tortoise and his canine friend were rescued last week from a fire on London Road in Mitcham.”
“The fire was caused by the naughty tortoise knocking over his heat lamp which fell onto the hay, a combustible material, in his aquarium.”
“After being made aware that there were two pets in the property, crews found and rescued a tortoise and a dog who was hiding under the stairs. Both animals were returned safely to their thankful owner.”
“The Brigade was called at 11:40am and the fire was under control by 12:22pm. Crews from Mitcham, Wimbledon, Tooting and Wallington Fire Stations attended the scene.”
The incident occurred only a day before more than 70 firefighters were called out to a flat fire that also broke out in south London.
The LFB said the blaze left the building “completely alight,” with crews managing to bring it under control within an hour.
Fire crews in the area were forced to act again later in the day as another blaze broke out at an industrial estate in southeast London overnight. Over 150 firefighters were called to tackle the fire at a scrapyard in Erith, working until 7am on Saturday to bring the flames under control.
