Miya, a five-year-old female tortoise, was rescued by reaction officers during a house fire in  Mountview in Verulam, KZN, on Friday.

Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) responded to a house on fire on Jacaranda Avenue at approximately 13:23.

According to a post on Rusa’s Facebook page, neighbours reported that a tortoise was seen in the house’s yard.

Officers were also told that the tortoise’s owners were not at home at the time of the fire.

“Miya was located after a brief search and removed from the area as flames were being doused at the neighbouring property.”