Homeowner set fire to his Maryland home while trying to fight a snake infestation

By Tim Fitzsimons -

A large fire that destroyed a Maryland home in November was caused by the homeowner's failed attempt to eliminate a smoking snake infestation, local fire officials said Saturday.

Pete Piringer, public information officer for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said on Twitter that an investigation revealed that the fire on Big Woods Road, near the town of Poolesville, on November 23 was accidentally caused when

were too close to a combustible material.

The fire started in the basement walls and floors and then spread upward, eventually causing

.

Neighbors were the ones who saw the flames and notified the authorities.

.

"It is believed that the heat source emitting the smoke was too close to combustible materials, which the owner did not know at the time, and this caused a fire in the walls and ceiling," Piringer said, describing the destroyed building as A very big house".

Piringer said in a statement that the homeowner was trying to eradicate the snakes with the smoke from that space, whom he called "the culprits of what happened," but the attempt did not end as planned. 

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After Montgomery County officials determined the fire was accidental, homeowners insurance investigators took up the case, the official said. 

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As for the snakes, Piringer thinks they are

.

"I am not an expert on wildlife, but at the time of the fire some firefighters saw snake skins, while others found one emerging from the base of the house," Piringer said in a text message to NBC News, sister network of Telemundo News.

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Firefighters captured the snake that emerged from the burning house.

"

," he said.