Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 29, 1993                   TAG: 9309290153
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: THE PLAINS                                LENGTH: Short

HUMANS ESCAPE FIRE; SNAKES NOT SO LUCKY

What they weren't prepared for was a trunk full of snakes on the second floor.

Firefighters had been attacking the Saturday night fire for a half-hour when a neighbor warned them about the serpents.

Nine nonpoisonous snakes were living in the house owned by Sean and Christine Graves, said Chuck Thompson, the county's emergency services coordinator. They included four adult pythons, two indigos, a baby python, an albino python and one unknown type of snake. An indigo is a large, smooth snake found in the South, also known as a gopher snake.

Several recent snake incidents have grabbed headlines, including the near-fatal bites that two Prince William County residents received from pet cobras.

Thompson said the firefighters "weren't happy" when told about the snakes.

The fire started about 7:45 p.m. in a house in The Plains in eastern Fauquier County, When firefighters arrived, the occupants, Christine Graves and her 5-year-old son, had escaped.

All of the snakes died in the fire. No charges will be filed because the snakes were not poisonous, Thompson said.