Victoria firefighters battled a tricky fire inside the Mayfair Shopping Centre on Wednesday evening.
The fire was called in around 8:40 p.m. at the Polished Perfect nail salon.
The Victoria Firefighters union says crews found smoke “pouring” from the business when they arrived. Additional crews were then called in once the scope of the fire was assessed.
The union says it was difficult to address the fire, since it was located “deep inside the vast structure of the mall.”
Story continues below
Victoria Firefighters IAFF Local 730/Facebook
Crews needed to pull in more than 152 metres (500 feet) of thick, 2.5 inch fire hose into the mall to get to the store.
“Despite the fact that the unit was sprinklered, the fire still needed to be suppressed by hose,” said the union in a social media post Wednesday.
“The fire was quickly knocked down and fortunately contained to a single unit.”
Mayfair says no one was injured in the incident, and the mall was closed at the time.
Victoria fire crews stayed at the scene for more than two hours to help remediate water damage caused by the building’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 union.
In a statement, the mall said it was open Thursday except for Polished Perfect and the adjacent Telus store.
“These stores remain closed for business today due to water and smoke exposure during the firefighting efforts,” said Mayfair.
Story continues below
Victoria Firefighters IAFF Local 730/Facebook
The mall says it’s grateful for the efforts of firefighters, and appreciates the public’s patience as repairs are made.
“We sincerely thank the Victoria Fire Department for their swift and decisive action in managing this incident,” said Mayfair.
Victoria Firefighters IAFF Local 730 adds that while firefighters were at the scene, another fire was reported along Herald Street in downtown Victoria.
With crews tied up at the mall, Victoria Fire called the Saanich Fire Department to help.
The Herald Street fire turned out to be a false alarm, but Victoria firefighters say they’re grateful for the assistance of their Saanich counterparts.
The cause of the fire at Mayfair mall is still under investigation.
CHEK News has reached out to the Victoria Fire Department and Mayfair Shopping Centre for further details.
Adam Chan
