NEW YORK (AP) - Firefighters responding to a burning New York City home found more than smoke and flames. Inside a set of plastic containers, they discovered five poisonous snakes. State officials on Friday were investigating the origin of the three venomous copperheads and two timber rattlesnakes, which were confiscated by police and taken to an animal rescue facility following Wednesday's fire.
Venomous snakes are illegal to own without a license in New York.
Richard Gentles, a spokesman for Animal Care & Control of New York City, said the organization would be looking for a new home for the reptiles, perhaps at a licensed sanctuary. They might also be released into the wilderness in an area where others of their species are normally found.
"They are beautiful and they are in excellent condition, and they are healthy," he said.
A spokeswoman for the state's Department of Environmental Conservation said the agency is trying to learn who owned the snakes and whether that person was licensed to have them.
Timber rattlesnakes, which can grow up to four feet (1.20 meters) long, are found wild in pockets of New York State and southern New Jersey, but are considered a threatened species. Copperheads can be up to three feet (1 meter) long and are also native to New York.
Details of the fire were not immediately known.
