Fire destroys two Carson businesses

Winds that stoked a fire Monday, destroying a furniture store and damaging a beauty salon, may also have blown away clues to the fire's cause, said Fire Chief Stacey Giomi.

"I don't know if we'll ever be able to figure out what happened," Giomi said Tuesday. "We know it started on the outside of the building. But the way the building was built and the way the wind eddied in that corner, we're having a difficult time pinning down the exact cause."

Giomi said the fire could have been started by an errant cigarette - butts were found in the area - but beyond that, the cause remains under investigation.

High winds sent the flames throughout the attic space of the 6,200-square-foot structure at Idaho Street and Fairview Drive that houses Mattress King and High Desert Hair Salon.

"The wind was quite extensive, which caused the fire to run in a northerly position," Carson City Fire Battalion Chief Dan Shirey said. "The winds caused the spread to accelerate, which complicated the issue."

Salon Owner Linda Beaty said she was in the shop alone when she smelled smoke.

"Then I looked up and I saw it billowing and I jammed out of there as fast as I could," said Beaty. "As soon as I left there were flames shooting in."

Beaty and three other stylists in the salon, newly opened in December, have lined up other shops to work in until they figure out a permanent plan.

"We're just going to grab some stuff so we can work, and go from there," she said.

While the salon's back wall sustained the most damage the property inside was unharmed.

"Except for the roof, where it's sagging, the interior is pretty much untouched," Shirey said.

Mattress King was not as fortunate. All of the merchandise in the back of the store was burned, but fire crews were able to stop the flames from spreading to the front half.

Giomi estimated the damage to between $250,000 and $500,000.