Fire fighters battling a blaze at a St. Petersburg, Florida home were surprised by a swarm of thousands of Africanized bees. The home fire was further complicated when a downed power line electrified a chain-link fence in the home's back yard.

"It's a disaster," Lt. Joel Granata of St. Petersburg Fire Rescue told the Tampa Tribune. "It's a teeny little house."

The fire began on the back porch of Robert Porter's home about 9:30 a.m.

An empty bookcase and boxes, too close to a gas water heater, caught fire and started the blaze. The fire destroyed the porch and spread throughout the wood-frame home, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

The fire also burned a power line, which electrified the fence when it fell into the back yard.

In the midst of the commotion, the Africanized bees erupted from their hive. Instead of fleeing the fire, in a move towards self-preservation, the bees attempt to gather honey rather than scatter when threatened, beekeeper Rodney Tyoe, a retired firefighter summoned the help, told the Times.

Firefighters were eventually able to put out the fire, but only after it caused about $30,000 in damage to the home, valued at $79,500, the Tribune reported.

After firefighters controlled the blaze, Tyoe sprayed pesticide and removed the burned beehive, dumping it in a box.

Africanized bees, also known as "killer bees," are common. When they sting, other bees are attracted by the scent and swarm, Tyoe told the Times.

Porter knew the bees were in the house, taking up residence in the front of the home and eventually building an 8-foot-tall hive, 30 inches wide.

"I was living with them," Porter, 66, told the Times. "They don't bother you if you don't bother them."

The fire sure bothered the bees.