Firefighters find a dozen snakes and 80 other animals in burning house near Cincinnnati

CINCINNATI - Dozens of animals rescued from a house fire in Cincinnati suburb have found temporary shelter.

Fire was something Nikki Hagaman had always feared would strike her home.

When she saw fire trucks race by where she works towards her house, she started running down the street. Flames were shooting from her home.

She shared the house in the 1800 block of Adams Road with her fiance', brother, and more than 80 animals of just about every stripe you can imagine.

Firefighters say the found:
- 18 rats
- 12 rabbits
- 10 mice
- 9 cats
- 7 finches
- 5 hamsters
- 4 iguanas
- 2 guinea pigs
- 2 cockatiels
- 1 hedgehog
- 1 bearded dragon

Add to that list seven dogs that escaped and lots of snakes.

"I have about 12," said Hagaman outside her burned out home.

She said she believes a heat bulb used to keep reptiles warm may have started the fire.

Officials found animals were everywhere.

"We brought out a couple of them that we need to get out of there right away," said Hamilton County Deputy Dog Warden David Jones. "There were a couple others that were running loose that we had to contain."

Hagaman volunteers for the Animal House pet store an Adams Road in Mt. Healthy, just down the street from her house.

They specialize in rescuing abandoned animals.

 Hagaman said they've been running out of room to take them all in.

"When we don't have room there, I bring them down here," she said. "That's what happens, and there's been a lot in the last couple of years."

Despite the size of her menagerie, both the SPCA and the owners of the Animal House say Hagaman had been taking good care of the animals.

That's something she can no longer do.

But Adam Charles, his wife Kristy and their family heard about the fire on our sister station, WCPO, and immediately went to the pet store to see how they could help.
     
Since Charles and his family are veterans of previous dog and raccoon rescues, they ended up bringing home almost three dozen pets, including ferrets, guinea pigs, 12 rats and a whole bunch of rabbits and bunnies.

Their dining room table has turned into a giant pet hotel for the fire survivors.

"We had some unexpected things like a rat that had a broken back. Ferrets that are coughing and sneezing from inhaling too much smoke. From what we were told that place was filled with smoke, so for them breathing all that in wasn't the best thing," added Charles.

Ultimately, Charles says he wants to adopt out all these stranded animals to good homes.

There were no injuries reported to firefighters and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.