Whitehorse family's pet tarantula killed in terrarium fire

A fire in Whitehorse's Copper Ridge neighbourhood Tuesday caused minimal damage to the home but killed the family's pet tarantula.

The spider's heat lamp fell into its terrarium, sparking peat moss and shavings.

Barry Blisner with the Whitehorse Fire Department, says it's lucky the homeowner was alerted to the fire, as it burned through the terrarium's bottom glass and into a coffee table.

"If itwould have been much longer there's probably a pretty good chance it would have extended into the table and then who knows where it can go from there," he said.

Firefighters removed the terrarium from the home and doused it with snow.

Blisner says the spider's bedding caused smoke damage to the house but no other animals or peoplewere injured.