A fire completely gutted a nail salon in a small strip-mall near the intersection of McKenzie Avenue and Quadra Street on Saturday evening.
The blaze appeared to have started inside Brooke’s Secret Nails and Spa, Saanich fire officials said.
“We had the fire knocked down in the first five minutes,” said Gary Stark, a battalion chief with the fire department. “The nail salon is a complete loss at this time.”
Two employees working in the salon were not harmed, Stark said.
Moein Movasseghi, who works next door to the nail salon at Sarpino’s Pizzeria, said he heard a scream coming from next door about 5:30 p.m.
He saw a woman standing outside the nail salon, screaming for someone to call 911.
Movasseghi got on the phone right away.
“I was panicking, my heart was pounding in my mouth. As I was on the phone, I heard an explosion and decided to get out,” he said.
He said fire crews responded within minutes of his call and quickly dealt with the fire.
No one was harmed in the blaze, and fire crews said there appears to be little damage to neighbouring businesses.
