Pet tortoise blamed for fire

NEW YORK, March 22 (UPI) -- A large pet tortoise that managed to escape from its tank and tip it over caused a fire that gutted a New York family's apartment, fire investigators said.

Giovani, an African spurred sulcata tortoise, was rescued from the fire, the New York Post reported. Another turtle owned by Mohamed Salem, an 18-year-old art student, was not so lucky and died in its tank.

Salem and the rest of the family were out Sunday when the fire started in their apartment in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. Investigators say when Giovani knocked over the tank the heat lamp fell on a pile of clothes and art supplies, including flammable liquids such as paint thinner.

Three police officers who were in the neighborhood and entered the building to make sure no one was trapped in the apartment suffered smoke inhalation along with one firefighter. Giovani, the size of a basketball, was rescued.

Ibrahim Salem, Mohamed's father, told the Post he does not see how the tortoise could have started the fire. He said firefighters told him the fire was an electrical one.

"But thanks God he is in life," Salem said, tickling the tortoise's legs.