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Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department assists in unusual rescue of wayward pet

Crews took apart a woman’s car to free her pet python that lodged itself in the interior of her vehicle.
Crews took apart a woman’s car to free her pet python that lodged itself in the interior of her vehicle. Courtesy of the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department

Firefighters are used to rescue calls, but crews recently performed an unusual rescue for a subject trapped in a tight space.

It was unusual because the subject was a pet python.

The snake’s owner drove to the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department’s Station 43 at around 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, for help extricating her pet, which had “somehow slithered into the dashboard area” of her car, the department said.

Station 43 crew members helped the woman extract her snake from the vehicle, with no injuries to people or pets.
Station 43 crew members helped the woman extract her snake from the vehicle, with no injuries to people or pets. Courtesy of the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department

The woman told them it was her snake’s first time escaping.

Crews started taking the car apart, using socket wrenches to partly remove the driver’s seat after a snake hook broke while trying to get the creature out. They banged on the car and made loud noises, which the owner said would encourage the snake to move forward and help them retrieve him.

The owner stuck her head into the driver’s side well while crews shined a light, then eventually, she pulled the snake out from what appeared to be underneath the center console area. The snake was light yellow in color and looked similar to a type of ball python.

No crew members or snakes were harmed in the incident, the department said.

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This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 5:58 PM.

OL
Olivia Lloyd
Coral Springs News
Olivia Lloyd is an Associate Editor/Reporter for the Coral Springs News, the Pembroke Pines News and the Miramar News. She graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Previously, she has worked for Hearst DevHub, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and McClatchy’s Real Time Team.