FIRE DESTROYS
HAIR SALON IN NORMAN, OKLAHOMA
January 16, 2015
When Nancy Hensley locked up her salon, The Venchi, at 3
p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, 2015, everything seemed normal. Just hours later, The Venchi had been gutted
by fire and was an entire loss.
A black styling chair was one of the few recognizable
features left in the hair salon at 104 and 106 S. Crawford Avenue by the time
Norman firefighters had extinguished the blaze.
Hensley said she worked on the shop for about six months
to get it ready to open. It had been in operation about a year.
While Hensley said she is grateful no one was injured in
the fire, tears slid down her cheek as she looked at the blackened ruin that
had once been her dream business.
“I can’t believe this,” she said.
Hensley said she has a friend with a shop who will allow
her to take care of her clients until she figures out what to do.
Deputy Fire Chief Jim Bailey said the call came in
around 5:30 p.m. that a commercial business in downtown Norman was on fire.
Norman Police Officer Robert Maldanado was one of the first on the scene after
he saw smoke and responded, but with the hair salon so near the Norman police
station and a local fire station, everyone was already on the way.
Transcript reporter Mack Burke was also one of the first
on the scene. While outside of the nearby newspaper offices, Burke saw smoke
and walked over to check it out. Things unfolded quickly after that as smoke
turned into a flash of fire, followed by more smoke.
Norman firefighters forced entry into the vacant
building and black smoke billowed from the open door. A ladder to the roof
allowed firefighters to attack the blaze from multiple directions.