Revere house fire claims reptiles

REVERE – An evening fire at a town house in Revere claimed the lives of several reptiles and caused an estimated $100,000 in damage Wednesday night, Deputy Fire Chief Michael Conley said at the scene.One room in the home owned by Bob Gallo at 24 Aurelia Sylvia Drive was fully involved when firefighters arrived around 6 p.m., Conley said, and it took over an hour to completely extinguish the blaze.Conley said the fire?s cause is being investigated, but it appeared to have started in what he described as a “step-down living room” between the first and second floors, and caused heavy damage there, as well as in the kitchen. Smoke caused damage throughout the home, Conley said.From the exterior, black soot could be seen coating the walls of the kitchen and a room above it. Gallo and several of his family members arrived on-scene after the fire was extinguished and appeared visibly shaken as neighbors and firefighters tried to comfort them. Several cried out as they approached the home, and a stretcher was brought out as a precaution.Gallo, a retired man in his 70s, was not home when the fire started, but neighbors worried the man?s dog, a chihuahua named Paco, may have been inside along with the reptiles. Conley and a family member of the house?s owner confirmed the dog was not harmed.Bob Gregorio, who lives directly behind Gallo, said he was sitting down to eat when he noticed a bright light coming from Gallo?s home. He grabbed a hose and joined fellow neighbors Frank Claudio and Dylan Kalloch in trying to enter the home.Kalloch lives in the residence attached to Gallo?s, which was not damaged, Conley said.?We tried to put it out but it was too hot,” Gregorio said. “I?m just glad the gas didn?t explode.”Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].