LEWISTON – A 6-foot boa constrictor trapped in a burning box was saved from certain death Monday through a joint effort by firefighters and an animal control officer.

The snake was locked inside its box at a Pleasant Street home Monday afternoon when a lamp tumbled down onto it and heated up the wood.

A woman who lives in the home called firefighters because she was afraid to touch the snake, officials said.

When firefighters arrived, they found the wooden box smoldering and smoking with the boa constrictor inside. Firefighters used an ax to smash the lock open while Animal Control Officer Wendell Strout waited to free the snake.

Once the box was open, Strout pulled the boa out and dropped it into a pillowcase. The snake, unharmed, was taken to an animal shelter to be retrieved later by its owner.

Officials said the snake likely would have burned to death or succumbed to smoke if it had not been freed. The fire did not cause major damage to the home.