A woman who was forced to flee a tanning salon naked after a fire said she was ‘lucky to be alive’ and had been left traumatised by the experience.
Elaine Lanigan, 63, had been enjoying her regular sunbed session at Ania’s beauty parlour in Wood Green when thick black smoke filled her booth, leaving her choking.
Desperate to escape the smoke-filled salon, she clambered out naked, not having time to dress properly or grab her handbag.
She ran onto the busy Wood Green High Street along with staff and other customers when there was an ‘explosion’ with images on social media showing a black cloud of smoke billowing into the road as naked Ms Lanigan struggles to cover herself.
Ms Lanigan, who lives in Wood Green, told Metro: ‘I was on the sunbed and then I could smell a strange smell like chemicals or plastic burning. I took the googles you wear on the sunbed off.
‘Then thick smoke started coming in, and I was choking. I knew I had to get out fast, I ran out, but the smoke was so thick. I was running for my life.
‘I was mostly naked but had to get out, so I ran into the street. It was pandemonium.
‘As we got out, there was a whoosh and like an explosion with a black cloud coming out of the salon.
‘It was busy on the road and I was trying to cover up how best I could. I realised that flats above the salon could have people in, so I banged on their door to warn them. I had to act to try to help others.
‘It was a nightmare I could have died.’
Dramatic footage on social media showed thick, black smoke billowing from the beauty parlour as staff and customers ran for cover.
Three people, including Ms Lanigan, were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
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She added: ‘My jewellery which has sentimental value was burned and I lost my bank cards and stuff.
‘But at least I’m alive. The emergency services were wonderful, and because I had no money or anything, the ambulance took me home.
When the fire started, I was in the booth, and no one knocked on the door to warn me.
‘I could have died there and then. I’ve been traumatised by the experience.’
Footage from the scene showed charred tanning booths and other equipment left outside the shuttered store.
The inside of the building is a burned-out shell with the melted remains of the sunbeds removed by firefighters and left on the street.
A second customer, a 42-year-old mother of two, told Metro: ‘I heard a woman screaming. Then I smelled something like burning rubber, then there was black smok,e and I was choking.
‘I got on my hands and knees and started to crawl towards the door, but I couldn’t see much. I was struggling to breath, it was like having a plastic bag over your head, it was awful, I thought I was going to die and never see my children again.
‘The electricity had gone, it was so dark. I saw a chink of light at the door, so I went for that. Elaine was outside, she helped me, and then there was an explosion and a whoosh followed by thick black smoke
‘It was my worst nightmare, I still have flashbacks, I’m struggling to get over it.’
A bus driver, who is a regular customer at the salon, heard a crackling noise from his sunbed, which was in a booth and got off to investigate before realising something was seriously wrong, the owner of the salon claimed.
Ragu Nad previously told Metro: ‘The guy is a bus driver, a regular here. He heard a noise like something in the electrics. He got off to have a look and realised it must be a fault but managed to get dressed before things got really serious.
‘Smoke started to come out, and then there was this explosion.
‘A woman who was naked had to run out like that.’
A friend of the bus driver told Metro: ‘He is okay, although he said his chest was tight, maybe from the smoke.’
Mr Nad, who has had the shop for 20 years, said the extent of the damage would force him to close for weeks. A new sunbed can cost £20,000, and the inside of the building is gutted.
He said his main concern was keeping his five staff employed and getting the salon running again.
He added: ‘The staff will have to be off for a while, but I’m dealing with the loss adjusters and insurers to try to get it sorted so they still have jobs.’
Wood Green High Road was closed near the Junction of Bounds Green Road after the blaze.
The shop remains closed.
A worker at a nearby pub told Metro: ‘It was utter carnage. There was so much smoke in the street, I was choking. It was really acrid. It was like watching the aftermath of a bomb going off. The people who came out of the building looked in shock.’
The fire brigade said: ‘Most of the ground floor salon was damaged by fire. Three people were treated on scene by London Ambulance Service crews after suffering from smoke inhalation
The fire is believed to have been accidental and caused by the failure of a cooling fan for a sunbed.’
An statement from the London Ambulance service said: ‘We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a paramedic in a fast response car and an incident response officer.
‘Our first paramedic arrived on scene in approximately three minutes. We assessed three people and discharged them at the scene.’
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