Miyosiwin Salon Spa is marking one year since a devastating downtown fire destroyed its business.
The salon reopened to the public on March 12, but owner Jennifer Dubois wanted to commemorate the anniversary with a grand reopening.
A fire sparked in the back of Lang’s Café on April 4, 2018. The flames quickly consumed the restaurant and jumped to the attic of the neighbouring Indigenous-owned salon, spreading down into the laundry room.
Lang’s Café collapsed and Miyosiwin suffered extensive damage.
“It’s like a nightmare. It’s like a dream. You don’t think it’s real.”
“They had to gut the whole place,” Dubois said. “I think we were able to salvage about 10 per cent of what we had for equipment in here before.”
While Dubois was able to reopen, other neighbouring businesses weren’t as lucky. Wonderland Arcade permanently closed due to damage and Empowered Fitness is still working to get back on its feet in the coming days.
The damage was so severe, officials were not able to determine a cause of the fire, but it’s a call that they still remember.
Yaciw was one of the firefighters sent inside Miyosiwin to make sure the hot spots were out.
“We came into the back and there was still a fire in the wall,” Yaciw said. “We went from doing overhaul to a full fire fight.”
“It’s a lot less smoky in here today than that day,” said Yaciw, adding he’s glad to be back to enjoy the salon rather than fighting a fire inside it.
Dubois is thanking Yaciw and the other firefighters who saved the building last April. She’s donating a portion of the proceeds from the grand reopening to the Firefighters Burn Fund and a muscular dystrophy fund supported by Regina Fire and Protective Services.
“We just want to thank them,” Dubois said. “That’s what this day is about. We’re just very excited to be back up and running again.”
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