<div>
 Classroom fire! My friend and colleague is a science teacher. Her classroom had a fire and she had to remove all of her animals and is caring for them at home. Please donate to help her as she provides their care and perhaps a solution for her classroom that will allow her to be able to return them! She shares her story below ♥️
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 I have spent some time contemplating on how to address what is currently going on in my teaching career and this is what I want to share.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 This is my 18th year teaching. I went to college to be a veterinarian, to specifically specialize in herpetology (reptiles), with a pre-vet track that resulted in a BS in biology. My senior year of college my mom and brother died within 6 months of each other and vet school was no longer on the table. I was very lost in what my career path would be and a board member from a local private school for children with learning differences suggested that I give teaching a try. This person had experience with my teaching style as I had been teaching horseback riding lessons at the barn that he kept his horse at and thought teaching children science would be the perfect job for me. So in the summer of 2008 I started my career as a teacher.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 I am a firm believer that ALL animals change lives. They offer something that people do not and that is an unbiased, unconditional, presence for everyone no matter what has happened in their lives. Some teachers are into drones, some are into legos, some are into computer technology….. animals are my thing. They always have been and they always will be. I know that they change lives and I strive to provide children with the opportunity for that to happen.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 In my 18 years of teaching I have always had reptiles, of many different types, in my classroom. I’ve had snakes, frogs, turtles, tortoises, and have even hatched baby turtles. I also have had fish, axolotls, piglets (who were visitors), hatched chicks, and had chickens and ducks at school in which we sold the eggs to put money back into the school. I’ve even brought my horses to numerous schools to give kids an experience that they would never be able to have in their life.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 In those 18 years I have never had an animal escape or have any lights/ heat emitters cause any fire damage. I spend THOUSANDS of dollars, of my own personal money (the school pays for nothing in regards to my animals) to make sure that every animal that I have receives the top tier, most appropriate care. I have veterinarians that I consult with regularly with questions and a number of reptile experts that I regularly have conversations with. I have made sure that every animal has what they need to be in the least stressful, most positive environment.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 During non-school time I drive to school at least every other day to take care of my animals. None of my animals require that I go in and let them out, feed them, on a multiple time per day basis. The animals that do require that have automatic feeders on their tanks. Anyone and everyone can tell you that my animals mean the world to me because of the positive impact that they have on children.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 I am a life science teacher and I use every animal in my classroom to teach my lessons with. Every. Single. One. Genetics? Let’s talk about ball python color morphs. Adaptations? Axolotls are one of the only organisms that can regenerate any part of their body. Ecosystems? Let’s look at all of the bioactive snake and turtle tanks in the room and let’s identify everything from a decomposer to a second or third level consumer and discuss the niche that each organism has in that ecosystem. Reproduction? Did you know that some species of snakes give live birth? And our guppies also give live birth. Let’s compare the parental responsibility of the fish to the rats in the room. Why are baby fish born ready to swim and live like an adult fish but the baby rats are born with their eyes closed and no fur? Cells and growth? Let’s analyze snake skin and turtle scoots to see how their growth is different from a mammals. Let’s measure snake skin after each shed cycle to see how much our snakes have grown. I could go on and on about how all of these animals are used.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 In addition to instructional tools, these animals offer a sense of peace to children who are emotionally disregulated. I have had kids walk around my room to just look in my tanks and need time to cool down, and it helps them find their peace. I’ve had kids come in and just hold the snakes in their lap while they do work (which they were refusing to do prior) because it helps them be centered. I have kids who start their day coming to my room before they even go to their first period class as a way to start their day positively, giving them the opportunity to leave the bad from home at the door and focus on something that makes them happy to get them through the day.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 My animals give children experiences that they never would have anywhere else. In a world of technology, social media, and screen time, my animals allow children to hold, touch and handle things they would never be able to. I have had children come in with a fear of snakes and leave being able to handle them appropriately and regularly and have developed a love for them because they were taught how to understand a very misunderstood species. Students have learned how to hold them, recognize signs of stress, what not to do when handling, and the importance of washing hands before and after handling. I developed an entire curriculum for a small animals class to teach kids how to take care of different animals, essentially making them the perfect pet sitters. My kids leave that room knowing how to water test freshwater tanks and the importance of the nitrogen cycle and the effect it has on the life of any freshwater aquatic organism.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 When visitors come to our building, whether they be prospective students, board members, guests of other teachers, or future employees, my classroom is the first room they are brought to. Everyone loves my room. Teachers on their planning periods or after school would come to my room and just take a few minutes to walk around and see the animals because they were overwhelmed, having a bad day, or just needed something positive in that moment.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 Before this happened I was in the early process of writing a grant to have a floor to ceiling enclosure installed in the school that was to house Nanner as a complete bioactive enclosure. It was to include plants, a functioning pond with aquatic life, decomposers, and a place for students to experience Nanner in an ecosystem in which all organisms depend on each other.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 The accident that occurred early Thursday morning has been devastating, to say the least. A lot of misinformation has been shared and a lot of things have been left out. I’m not here to point fingers, I’m not here to lay blame, I am not here to say anyone is not doing their job. I’m here to present some facts that will clear up many misconceptions that are out there right now:
</div>
<div>
 - every snake tank in my classroom had a lock system on it and all snake tanks were locked and closed, with snakes inside of them, when I left school Wednesday afternoon.
</div>
<div>
 - all light fixtures were secured to the appropriate places. The tortoise heat fixture (it was a heat emitter, not a lamp) was secured to the side of the enclosure. It had been in the same place for the past 3 years and was something that could not be easily knocked over. It was clamped to the side of the enclosure, up off of the bedding high enough as to not cause a fire due to overheating.
</div>
<div>
 - Bedford country fire department (2 members), myself, and the head of the janitorial staff walked my entire room and checked every plug and fixture in November 2025. There was one cord that was not up to code, which was removed at that time, and another one was purchased right then and there with approval from Bedford county fire department. With that, everything else in my room was passed as up to code.
</div>
<div>
 - pythons, of any type, have pits in their face that are heat sensors. They do not see well at all and move/respond to infrared radiation that is detected through those pits. When the infrared levels get too high or too low their instinct to remove themselves from that environment kicks in and they will do what they need to to get out. In my 18 years of keeping reptiles I have never had a snake escape an enclosure with a lock system on it until this event.
</div>
<div>
 - when I arrived to my classroom at 4 am Thursday morning, I went to the tank that Nanner was in (it was not the tank that was on the media, that tank had been disinfected and left to sit for a period of time to dry. Nothing was in that tank). When I got there, both locks had been completely removed from the tank. One was popped of and in the sink, the other was popped of and in between the wall and the cage. These locks are made of metal and tuck under the plastic lip of the tank itself and tuck under the lip of the screen itself. So when you try to lift the lid, you cannot because the locks are secured on other parts of the tank. When i picked up the locks they no longer fit on the tank because the metal had been stretched. She pushed on the screen so hard to get out that she bent the metal locks. Her light fixture and the 3 other snake light fixtures on that counter were all in the places that they should have been in and were not disrupted.
</div>
<div>
 - Cameras from the school hallway were reviewed (to be sure that no one had gone into my classroom) and exactly 20 minutes after the fire was visible through the glass on my classroom door, my snake was seen exiting my classroom. She left the room because it was so hot in there. So hot that it melted the tank next to hers.
</div>
<div>
 - when the fire fighters arrived to the building, they took the hose and blasted her from outside the doorway all the way to the back corner of my room, which is where their video that they posted on social media starts.
</div>
<div>
 - her cage, that she left from, was on the opposite side, opposite corner of my doorway. None of my snakes have ever been put on the floor of my room. She found the doorway because that is where the least amount of infrared light was and she was instinctually escaping the heat.
</div>
<div>
 - the remains of the tortoise enclosure and lamps did not leave any evidence that would directly indicate that the heat fixture was knocked over. The entire light fixture (which had an outer metal casing) that the fire started from was completely gone. There was no more metal, no more socket. The only think that remained was the heat emitter itself. The actual uv light that was on the other side of his enclosure was fully intact and was off at the time because it was on a timer.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 When Nanner was removed from the room, her face had black soot all over it, in the shape of the screen holes of her original tank, not the tank the fire department put her in. There are perfect circles of soot on her face that match the screen holes. After she was bathed to remove all of the soot from her body, her nose, where she pushed on the screen is purple and bruised.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 My tortoise, named bowser, was literally melted in half. I had that tortoise for 8+ years and he was the size of a golf ball when I got him. He died being about the size of a basketball.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 I have since had to remove all of my animals from the school. They are home, with me, because rehoming is not an option. These animals have provided hands on, interactive opportunities for children and have taught them so much that they deserve to continually be cared for the best way possible and I know I can, and have, provided that for them. They are currently all under observation for upper respiratory infections and my local vet has an Oxygen chamber ready if it is needed along with antibiotics.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 I am devastated for many reasons right now - all of my teaching tools are now gone, many children will now not have the opportunities that many others have had, 18 years of teaching material is
</div>
<div>
 Gone. I have overwhelming guilt that an exorbitant amount of money is going to have to be spent to fix all of these things, even though this was an accident and not mine, or anyone else’s “fault.” I never wanted this for my school, my admin, or my county. I was so excited to be able
</div>
<div>
 To share my classroom with a new group of students this year and continue to educate them beyond what was required. Because that’s what good teachers do, and Forest Middle is full of teachers that go above and beyond every day.
</div>
<div>
 <br>
</div>
<div>
 I’m sorry, to everyone that this has negatively impacted. And I’m especially sorry to the students that will no longer be able to have this experience. My heart hurts so much for you.
</div>

Robin Doss

Glenda Frye

Brenda Hunt

Wendy Ward

Stephany Uehling

Karen Rowlett

Lynda Purvis

Lori Harrison

Dianne Nichols

Jinger Snapp-Laplace

June Wooten

Suzanne Marchak

Miranda Lowry

Anonymous

Laurie Cook

Kelly Grambau

Sarah Lowry

Spitaki Comas

Karen Martin

Classroom fire! Help teacher care for animals at home

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Classroom fire! Help teacher care for animals at home

Still $2,430 to go. Help us build momentum.