(CNN) You'd think a 45-year-old would know better than to knock a hot object onto his bed.

But a grumpy-looking tortoise apparently named Victor is being blamed for doing that and starting a fire at his human's home in Duton Hill, Essex, in England.

Fire officials there say the tortoise knocked a heat lamp onto its bedding, which then caught on fire. The tortoise was unable to call 999, but neighbors heard smoke alarms and called emergency services.

Crews were on-call -- at home with their families -- and rushed to the station, then to the house.

They kept the fire to one room, and Victor, who must have stayed low to the ground in the smoke-filled home, was saved. And the fire was put out quickly.

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