Firefighters at the scene of the blaze at So Shell in Fitzrovia [LFB]

A BEAUTY salon staffed by refugees who fled the war in Ukraine was destroyed in a major blaze yesterday (Thursday).

Thick plumes of smoke could be seen billowing across the West End after the fire broke out around 7.40am at So Shell, Fitzrovia.

The business is on the ground floor of a block of 50 flats.

Manager Anastasia Szoljanik told the Extra: “We’re really stressed and we are so destroyed because nothing is left, the premises itself is all in ash. The skylight has collapsed and the roof.

“The staff room and bar area are completely destroyed and our employees are very sad as a lot of personal belongings are destroyed.”

Ms Szoljanik said luckily no staff members were in the building at the time. She said firefighters told her the blaze started at the back of the building, but they won’t know the cause of the fire for months.

Ms Szoljanik said: “Nail tools, uniforms, gloves, masks have all been destroyed, so we don’t even have tools to work with.”

Plumes of smoke over the West End [Sharon Hanley]

She added: “We are all Ukrainians, we employ people from Ukraine and we provide an opportunity to earn money and support Ukraine as well.”

So Shell opened in July 2022 and the Fitzrovia branch was the company’s biggest outlet in London with a new hair salon and a fully stocked bar serving coffee and cocktails.

Some residents from the homes above the business left the building before firefighters arrived when they awoke to find outside their windows.

Natasha Tan, who lives in the block of flats above, told the Extra: “I woke up early because I heard banging. It was really loud. There was a man shouting.

“I unveiled my blinds and I couldn’t see anything. It was smoky. All I saw was orange and green smoke. I realised it might be a fire but I thought it was just a small fire so I came down to check if everyone was OK. I was just wearing shorts. Then my neighbour said we needed to evacuate so I ran back and got my flatmate. So we’ve been outside since 8am. I think our flat will be OK because we had our windows shut.”

Chris Jordan, who works at Gigs Fish and Chips in Tottenham Street, was opening up his chippy in the early morning to feed builders working on construction sites in the area.

Firefighters at the scene of the blaze in Fitzrovia

Mr Jordan said: “I saw the smoke before the fire brigade arrived and watched the firefighters break the door in.

“I feel sorry for the beauty salon, it’s quite a busy one and run by Ukrainians. What with everything that’s happening to their country and then this happens. It’s sad.”

Tottenham Street was closed while the firefighters worked to make the site safe.

The London Fire Brigade said: “Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters have been tackling a fire at a mixed-use building on Tottenham Street.

“Most of the ground floor was damaged by the fire. One man was rescued from the building by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus using a fire escape hood and was taken to hospital.

“One of the Brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders was used as an observation tower to provide the Incident Commander with an aerial view of the fire.

“Control Officers took the first of 14 calls at 7.43am and mobilised crews from Soho, Euston, Islington and surrounding fire stations to the scene. The incident was over for firefighters at 9.36am.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.