Districts 1 and 8 and Rescue 2 responded to a fire call at the Discovery Center located at 502 SE Broad Street just after midnight Monday.

When crews arrived on scene, there were no visible flames or smoke. When the key holder to the building arrived, crews entered the building to investigate what set off the alarm.

A sprinkler head had activated in an interior room which housed the reptiles after hours. Crews discovered a light haze in the room. The sprinkler system was shut down and drained to locate the problem.

It was determined by crews that a heat lamp over the boa’s aquarium shorted, causing the plastic top to melt and activate the sprinkler head. The glass aquarium shattered, but it is unknown if it was due to the heat of the melted plastic or because of the cold sprinkler water hitting the hot glass.

The building received no flame damage. The carpet and other items did receive some water damage from the sprinkler system. However, crews noted that the sprinkler system had the flames out upon their arrival.

All reptiles, except for a mammoth cockroach, were unharmed in the incident.