A business within Mayfair Mall, Polished Perfect, suffered a massive fire just before the shopping centre shut down last night.
At around 8:40 p.m. on Wednesday, January 17th, Victoria firefighters responded to Mayfair after the alarm was sounded.
According to the Victoria Firefighters Association (VFA), what could have been a false alarm proved to be more than that.
“On arrival, Engine 3 crew was geared and ready, and it’s a good thing as the alarm bells were quickly upgraded to a working fire,” said the VFA in an Instagram post.
“It quickly became evident that it was not a false alarm. With smoke pouring from a nail salon, Engine 3 Captain Ooms promptly upgraded the call to a General Alarm and requested more personnel.”
Following the call for backup, five additional emergency vehicles and crews were dispatched to the shopping centre.
The VFA says that regardless of the fact there were sprinklers in the burning nail salon, the blaze needed to have additional suppression via a 500’ long hose that firefighters stretched through the building.
Because of their efforts and quick work, the fire was contained to the one unit and did not impact or damage adjacent businesses.
Following the fire being extinguished, firefighters stayed on scene to help out with water damages from the mall’s sprinklers.
“Mayfair is a large employer, and we did our very best to mitigate the damage to help the Mall recover as fast as possible,” said the VFA.
During the commotion, another call came in requesting fire crews at a location on Herald Street.
Because their resources were compromised, the VFA said Battalion Chief Loewen requested their neighbouring mutual aid partners at Saanich Fire Department to attend that call.
“Luckily, it was a false alarm,” wrote the VFA.
“It just shows that with a growing city, there is also a need to grow our response capabilities.”
Following the nail salon fire being put out, investigators were called in to assess the scene and determine the cause of the blaze.
