NORTH ADAMS — A 7-inch leopard gecko and some fish survived a two-alarm fire in Tropical Gardens Pet Center at 17 Eagle St. Monday morning, but the rest of Terri Blair's animals perished in the blaze, including one parrot that had not been for sale, according to emergency responders.

The two-story fire scathed no humans, but Peter May, who owns the building, said he is afraid upstairs tenants Blair and William Cartwright, who ran the pet store, might not ever return.

"This business was her livelihood," May said of Blair as he shivered across the street from the pale aqua-colored storefront in single-digit temperatures just after 10:30 a.m. "I think that parrot she had was her best friend."

¶ 1:28 PM