Tortoise dies in Yorkshire house fire linked to electrical fault with its tank

Two fire stations sent crews to deal with the blaze which broke out in the early hours of Monday morning (Nov 22) on Machon Bank, near Nether Edge, and which killed a tortoise.

It is thought to have been caused by faulty wiring in a container which had been set up for a tortoise in the house.

The householder got out of the property when he heard the smoke alarm going off, and was already outside the property when the fire engines arrived.

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Firefighters from Lowedges and Central were called to Machon Bank, Sheffield, at 1.06am.

"Upon arrival they found a developing fire in the living room of a house, with the occupier already outside having been alerted by a smoke alarm.

"Crews immediately entered the property to tackle the blaze and stop it spreading any further. This is believed to have started due to an electrical fault on a tortoise tank. We left the scene at 2am.”

The tortoise which had been in the tortoise tank in the lounge could not be saved, and died in the fire.

But the firefighters were able to save another tortoise which was in the blazing property, which was in another room.

It is not the first time a tortoise’s accommodation has caused a house fire.

Similar incidents have been reported in recent years in cities including Leicester, Manchester and Sunderland.