Anywhere from 600 to 1,000 animals were killed Wednesday morning in a pet store fire.
Firefighters said among the would-be-pets killed at the Animal Jungle Shop, 1236 W. 44th Place, were fish, snakes, hamsters and several different types of birds.
The owner of a store next to the pet shop told Local 10's Jen Herrera that he arrived at about 8 a.m. and saw the smoke, but firefighters said the flames started much earlier than that.
Firefighters had to break through the bars in front of the store to put out the blaze. After the fire was extinguished, hundreds of dead birds could be seen plopped over in their cages.
Herrera reported that two turtles and some fish survived, as well as a batch of baby birds that had gone home for the evening with their caretakers.
Firefighters said the cause of the fire appeared to be electrical.
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