Firefighters put out the blaze that started inside a business on West Crockett Street the evening of Jan. 23. Minx Designs hair studio owner Lani Nutt lost her business in the fire, as well as most of the contents of her upstairs apartment.
Peter Fleisher
A GoFundMe account has been set up to benefit a Queen Anne business owner and resident who lost almost everything in a fire on West Crocket Street on Upper Queen Anne last week.
The fundraiser has since been expanded to include other residents and pets who were affected by the fire, as well.
The blaze took place shortly before 7 p.m. Jan. 23 at Minx Designs hair studio in a building at 603 W. Crockett shortly before 7 p.m. Jan. 23. The hair studio owner, Lani Nutt, has been at that location for 17 years, a business owner in Queen Anne for 25 years, and lived in an apartment above the business.
Friend and Queen Anne resident Dana Bamshad, who organized the GoFundMe, said on the evening of the fire, Nutt went down to her hair studio to feed the fish in her large tank when she heard crackling noises coming from the kitchen nook area of the salon. When Nutt went to investigate, she saw smoke and quickly returned with a fire extinguisher, but she discovered the flames had already engulfed that part of the business. Bamshad said Nutt ran upstairs and told all the neighbors about the fire and to leave the building. A neighbor evacuated with Nutt’s cat, Betsy, while Nutt tried to salvage whatever she could of her possessions.
“There was nothing she could do. She lost everything,” Bamshad said, adding Nutt does not have any family or a close network of friends and relatives to turn to for help.
All the residents evacuated the building without injury, and Bamshad said Nutt’s cat was unharmed, but all her fish perished in the fire. Bamshad said the fire department contained the fire, but she was unsure if other units sustained significant smoke damage or how many people were displaced. In addition to Minx, the building had 4 upstairs apartments including Nutt’s, a dental office and a clothing boutique, Meadow. Bamshad said Saturday that Meadow staff posted a sign that the store was closed because of smoke damage, insurance review and no electricity.
CAUSE UNCERTAIN
As of Friday, insurance investigators and adjustors were still determining the cause of the fire, but Bamshad said Nutt speculated it was electrical in nature because she had nothing burning or on at the time of the fire, and the building had documented electrical issues in the past.
Her hair studio and apartment did have several oil paintings and pieces of artwork and antique and vintage furniture that she eventually hoped to sell in a new business enterprise she wanted to start eventually. Her studio also had chemicals and product that Nutt used to design hair.
“So, it’s the type of environment that if there’s a fire, it’s going to go fast,” Bamshad said.
While Nutt had a commercial insurance policy, it was mostly dedicated to her business items and not personal belongings, which included her fish tank, paintings, artwork, antique furniture and more.
“She’s not going to get the priceless things back,” Bamshad said.
Bamshad said Nutt’s apartment was not destroyed by fire, but it was heavily damaged and most of Nutt’s belongings were destroyed, either by smoke or in the fire-fighting efforts. The renters insurance Nutt had is not enough to pay for all her expenses, Bamshad added.
“So, she is starting from nothing, basically, with very limited things,” Bamshad said.
Bamshad said she wanted to help her friend rebuild her life after the fire because Nutt is a longtime, dedicated business owner and community member who is a “vibrant, extremely caring and talented” and is a good person who has encountered many setbacks since the pandemic, including having to declare bankruptcy.
“It’s kind of one thing after the rest, and she just can’t catch a break,” Bamshad said. “It’s her entire life is just gone.”
Currently, Bamshad said Nutt is staying in a hotel temporarily while actively looking for a new location in which to set up her business. While Nutt can and does cut hair, she specializes in complicated color, smoothing and straightening, blow-outs and intricate hair designs for events.
“She’s really an artist,” Bamshad said.
UP AND RUNNING
While Bamshad cancelled Nutt’s appointments for last week and this one and notified her clients of the fire, she said her friend has no choice but to get her business started as soon as possible, which means purchasing all the equipment, tools and product needed, even before she receives the insurance payment.
“Her goal is to able to start working in some capacity in the next couple of weeks because she already lost so many weeks in the pandemic that she can’t afford to lose more,” Bamshad said.
The GoFundMe is to help Nutt begin rebuilding her life and getting her business open again soon, Bamshad said, “because it’s not like she can put it on a Chase Sapphire card and call it a day.”
In a text message shared by Bamshad, Nutt said she is so grateful and overwhelmed by the help offered to her and to everybody who has donated to the GoFundMe already or helped in other ways.
“I would never have thought that in losing almost everything, in return I would feel such hope and more connected with humanity than ever I have in my life,” she said. “The amount of support and kindness is humbling and unbelievable.”
Bramshad said Nutt wants to give some of the money donated to help the other residents of the building who have been displaced by the fire, some of whom are elderly, on fixed income and have lived there for over 30 years.
As of Monday morning, more than $26,000 has been donated through the GoFundMe account.
To help Nutt and the other residents impacted by the fire, visit gf.me/v/c/vjps/minx-designs-apartment-fire-recovery-for-lani.