UPDATE: Electrical Malfunction Caused Salon Incident

RIO GRANDE – A fire occurred at Island Sun Tanning March 19 at approximately 1:40 p.m. David Johnson, a Rio Grande resident said he was in one of the tanning booths when the fire started.
“It was one of those stand up tanning booths,” Johnson said. “You put your money in and it starts. I put in for 10 minutes and when it got down to the last minute, the machine gave a big bang and I thought, ‘That was weird!’”
Johnson said the secondary controls inside the tanning booth were not working properly during his 10-minute tan and he could not work the fan. He didn’t think much of it until the “bang” occurred.
“I saw sparks all over and I was afraid to touch the metal,” Johnson said. “I heard the manager yelling. She was the one who got everyone out of there.” Johnson said there were probably half a dozen people in the tanning salon at the time.
“I grabbed the fire extinguisher and put it out,” said Danielle Bobh, the manager of Island Sun Tanning. “There was a lot of smoke … and powder from the extinguisher.”
Middle Township Police on scene said the cause was most likely a faulty electrical box that runs through one of the tanning beds.
Rio Grande Fire Company responded and the official cause has not been released.
UPDATE:
On March 20, Rio Grande Fire Chief Richard Sweeten confirmed there was a fire at Island Sun Tanning March 19 and that the manager of the salon extinguished the fire.
Cape May Deputy Fire Marshal Rocco DiSylvestro said there was an electrical malfunction in a wire and the wire started to melt. “Somebody hit it with a dry chemical which produced heavy smoke.”
Owner’s Statement: “There was no fire in Island Sun. A ballast on a machine simply burned out, causing a pop. Our managers are all trained to take every precaution in the event of any issue like this, and spray the extinguisher after evacuating the salon. We have ten salons and do not take any chances with something like this. Unfortunately, from the article, it looks as if there was an actual fire. There was no fire. There was no action necessary or taken by firemen as there was no actual “fire”, though this article, in an attempt to create “news,” makes it seem as if the store was burning down. We were back open for business March 20, as normal. Any customers who did not receive their tanning as a result of us being closed March 19, can message us directly on Facebook for compensation.”
To contact Bryon Cahill, email bcahill@cmcherald.com.