Nail salon fire not suspicious

Nov. 27--A fire and theft have ravaged a popular nail salon in recent weeks.

Firefighters from the Barnwell City Fire Department responded to Super Nails on Jefferson Street, which is just off of the Circle in downtown Barnwell, on Friday, Nov. 8 after a passerby noticed smoke around 4:30 a.m. Firefighters quickly located and extinguished the fire in the back storage room of the nail salon.

"What caused it is the big question," said Fire Chief Tony Dicks of how the cause is undetermined at this time.

Officials believe the fire started in the ceiling of the storage room, which received the most damage and had "super hot" temperatures" at the time firefighters arrived, said Dicks. There were a lot of electrical wires around that area, so an electrical issue possibly ignited the fire. Dicks believes falling debris from the ceiling ignited spots below.

Firefighters found water leaking upon arrival and believe a water line melted from the heat. This likely helped stop the fire from becoming worse and spreading, Dicks said.

Although firefighters found some "unusual situations" that indicated the fire could be suspicious, they now do not believe the fire is suspicious. An arson investigation team from the State Law Enforcement Division investigated, but did not find any obvious signs of arson, said Dicks.

The "unusual situations" Dicks was referring to were unlocked front doors to the salon and adjoining store, which used to be the Super Cellular store but has been closed in recent years. The owners of the building said they accidentally left the door to the old phone store unlocked, but definitely locked the salon side door. The power outage during the fire caused the magnet lock, which requires power, to unlock, said Dicks. Firefighters also found the phone store side in disarray, but learned it was that way before the fire due to being closed.

Dicks said the owners are working with their insurance company. He said the building will require a good bit of work in order to reopen the salon, but it is fixable since the structure is intact.

Days after the fire, someone stole several items from the salon, including nail drills, two televisions, gel polish, gel lamps and other items.

"Someone took it upon themselves to go into the shop and steal what little we did have left," said Holly Nguyen on Facebook. She and her husband, Duong, own the salon and building.

This is not the first time the building has caught fire. Chief Dicks said he remembers a fire in 1964 when the building was home to the Goodyear Tire & Appliance store. The building was fixed and has been home to several businesses over the years, he said.

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