Sunbed Rooms in Southampton destroyed in fire

People were forced to flee their homes as a fire tore through Sunbed Rooms in Kendal Avenue.  

One woman was treated for smoke inhalation and police set up a roadblock during the blaze at around 3.30pm on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the salon was severely damaged in the blaze.

Celina Loretto, her three daughters and her husband were startled when someone came knocking on her door telling her to evacuate.

The 41-year-old fled home with her one-year-old baby.

READ MORE: Firefighters called out after blaze breaks out at bakery

Clouds of smoke coming from the tanning salon. (Image: Chis Davie)

She said: “I was at home when someone just knocked on the door saying "there’s a fire. Get out! Fire downstairs".

“I grabbed my baby, left everything behind and ran to the car park, and there was a lot of black smoke coming from the roof and I just stayed there.

“Then the firefighters came very quickly and took control of the situation.”

Celina’s 22-year-old daughter, Viviana described the moment she grabbed her sister as her family was told to evacuate their home.

She said: “I grabbed my little sister and joined my parents downstairs and all of us just walked out, there was so much smoke and everyone was wondering what was going on

“It was really scaring, my little sister, started saying we were going to lose our house.”

“When the fire trucks came, for a second you couldn’t even see the flats anymore because smoke took over all this.”

READ MORE: Smoke seen billowing from warehouse as fire ripped through site in early hours

Neighbour, Nikolay Fung, 37 lives with his 19-year-old brother and 55-year-old mother.

He said: “I was outside and saw the tanning salon filling with black smoke.

“The firefighters opened the door and started to spray with water and there was smoke everywhere.”

A neighbouring shop also suffered water damage.

Crews from Redbridge, St Mary’s and Eastleigh Fire Stations were at the scene.

Fire investigation officers attended the scene on Thursday to establish the cause, which is thought to be non-suspicious, however, their enquiries are ongoing. 

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.

Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.

You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.

Don't just take my word for it - subscribe today.

Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by searching Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents on Facebook

Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated group by searching Hampshire Court and Crime News on Facebook