Owners of salon gutted by fire vow to relocate nearby
Noel Gregg, who runs Leonard’s Hair and Beauty in Douglas Shopping Centre in Cork with Leonard Higgins, said while the salon will be closed for a few days, they hope to relocate the business to a temporary unit elsewhere in the complex.
“We hope to relocate within a few days and we would ask our customers to bear with us while we make those arrangements,” Mr Gregg said.
Their ground floor and upper floor units were gutted by fire which broke out on Saturday afternoon when the salon and centre were packed with customers.
Salon staff raised the alarm around 2pm when they spotted smoke in the upper part of the building. Within seconds, they could see flames and evacuated their customers.
Mr Gregg said some staff tried to fight the blaze with fire extinguishers but the smoke got so thick and intense, they had to retreat.
“It was absolutely frightening and very traumatising to see,” he said.
“There was an explosion of the very thick floor-to-ceiling glass we have at the front of the shop. We are just so lucky that everybody got out safe and without injury.”
A full evacuation of the shopping centre, which houses Tesco and Marks and Spencer, was ordered.
Three units of the Cork City Fire Brigade were on the scene within minutes and firefighters brought the blaze under control quickly.
It is believed the fire was caused by an electrical fault in the ceiling of the salon’s ground floor unit.
Mr Gregg praised his staff and shopping centre management for handling the evacuation so well.
He also praised the fire service for their quick response.
“It was very efficient. There is a petrol station just across the road and people were very concerned at the time,” he said.
The salon, which was established in the shopping centre in 1991 and which employs 16 people, suffered extensive damage and will be closed for several days.
It was among several of the shopping centre’s retail units to suffer extensive damage in the 2012 flood which swamped the village.
But Mr Gregg said he and his business partner are working flat-out to minimise disruption and to get the business open again. They were contacting clients over the weekend rescheduling appointments.
He urged customers with queries to contact him on 087-6750114.
