Heat lamp for pet tarantulas sparks Olympia house fire

A pet tarantula died in an early morning fire in Olympia on Friday.

Crews were dispatched to the fire in the two-story home in the 1300 block of Cherry Street Southeast at 1:26 a.m. The residents were already outside when the fire crews arrived.

The fire is believed to have been started by a heat lamp in a terrarium in an upstairs bathroom, according to Asst. Chief Mike Buchanan.

Although one pet died, another tarantula survived the blaze, Buchanan said. There were no other injuries, and the rental home sustained about $10,000 damage in smoke and fire damage, he said.

“The residence had been equipped with a smoke alarm but it had been removed when the battery failed,” Deputy Chief Greg Wright wrote in a news release. “The lack of a working smoke alarm could have had catastrophic results in this fire had the residents not awakened before becoming overcome by the smoke. Please check and replace smoke alarm batteries as needed. Just a reminder Daylight Savings Time starts March 11 and that is a good time to replace your smoke alarm batteries.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2018 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Heat lamp for pet tarantulas sparks Olympia house fire."