Massive Python Blamed for School Fire — But Teacher Says Snake Is Innocent

An 8-foot python named Nanner has found herself at the center of one very unusual Virginia school fire investigation — but her teacher is fiercely defending the snake against accusations that she sparked the blaze.

Fire officials say the massive python escaped her enclosure inside Forest Middle School in Bedford County and knocked over a heat lamp, triggering a fire that damaged classrooms and killed another animal.

Nanner’s owner, longtime life science teacher Brittany Jacobs, says investigators have it wrong.

Jacobs insists the snake only broke free after the fire had already erupted and was simply trying to escape the intense heat.

“I am devastated for many reasons right now,” Jacobs wrote in an emotional Facebook post, saying 18 years of teaching materials and classroom resources were destroyed.

She added that generations of students could now lose access to the hands-on animal experiences she had spent nearly two decades building.

The bizarre drama began shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, when firefighters responded to an alarm at Forest Middle School.

Crews arrived to find smoke pouring from the second floor and water already flowing from the building’s sprinkler system.

But when firefighters entered one of the classrooms, they discovered something they probably weren’t expecting during a school fire — a huge python hiding underneath a desk.

Video released by the Forest Fire Department showed Nanner stretched out beneath classroom furniture as firefighters worked around her.

Crews safely secured the snake until her owner arrived.

Firefighters eventually extinguished the blaze and shut down the sprinkler system, but eight classrooms were left with water damage.

The Fire Marshal’s Office later told WDBJ that investigators believe Nanner escaped from her cage and knocked over a heat lamp, which then started the fire.

“The snake contributed to starting the fire,” the fire marshal said, before adding a little humor to the otherwise serious situation.

“However, I don’t think there was any maliciousness involved on the snake’s side.”

Jacobs strongly disputes that version of events.

According to the teacher, Nanner’s enclosure became so dangerously hot during the blaze that the python forced her way through the top.

“She pushed on the screen so hard to get out that she bent the metal locks,” Jacobs wrote.

Jacobs said the snake fled because temperatures inside the classroom had become extreme.

“She left the room because it was so hot in there,” she wrote. “So hot that it melted the tank next to hers.”

The fire also reportedly killed a tortoise kept inside the classroom.

For Jacobs, the loss is especially painful because animals have long been a central part of how she teaches science.

She said she originally went to college to become a veterinarian specializing in reptiles before ultimately becoming a teacher. Over her 18-year career, she has kept snakes, frogs, turtles, tortoises and other animals in her classroom.

Jacobs said she has never previously had an animal escape or experienced a fire involving the lamps and heating equipment used for the reptiles.

“I am a firm believer that ALL animals change lives,” she wrote.

She said classroom animals can give children a unique connection that traditional teaching tools cannot provide.

“Some teachers are into drones, some are into legos, some are into computer technology,” Jacobs wrote. “Animals are my thing.”

For now, however, the unusual classroom tradition has come to an end.

Jacobs said she has removed all of the animals from her classroom following the devastating fire.

And while investigators may officially consider Nanner part of the chain of events that caused the blaze, her teacher remains convinced the giant python was not the culprit — but another victim trying to escape.