45-year-old pet tortoise sparks Christmas Day house fire in England, authorities say

Officials believe an unlikely culprit was behind a Christmas Day house fire in the United Kingdom – a 45-year-old pet tortoise.

According to the Essex County Fire & Rescue Service, firefighters responded Wednesday afternoon to a home in Great Dunmow, England, after neighbors reported hearing a smoke alarm. Authorities quickly discovered and put out a fire in one of the rooms by 4:50 p.m., officials said in a news release.

This 45 year old tortoise might look angry but it's his lucky day. After he set his bedding alight his neighbour heard the smoke alarm and called us. Our on-call crews left their families to go extinguish the fire and gave him a very merry Christmas ➡️ https://t.co/xkk3QsXwGT pic.twitter.com/L3v8fFlu0p
— Essex Fire Service (@ECFRS) December 25, 2019

Great Dunmow Fire Station Watch Manager Gary Wain said in a statement that a tortoise had "knocked a heat lamp onto its bedding, which then caught alight." Rescuers saved the reptile, named Victor, CNN reported.

"This tortoise has had a very lucky Christmas Day – he is 45 years young and will now hopefully continue to live a long and happy life thanks to working smoke alarms," Wain said, according to the news release.