Ronda Boydโs hair salon used to be filled with joy and laughter, as she and students from the Benning Career Institute provided free back-to-school haircuts for young people in her D.C. neighborhood.
Monday afternoon, Ronda Boyd got a panicked call. The salon was gone after fire ripped through a commercial building on the 2500 block of Bladensburg Road Northeast.
The older age of the building complicated the response, News4 was told. One firefighter received what were described as minor injuries.
A construction worker on the second floor became trapped and was rescued by firefighters.
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The fire also caused the evacuation of a day care business in the physically attached building next door. Eight preschoolers were quickly led to safety by staff.
On the ground floor: devastation to the barber shop and hair salon.
โWe canโt go back in the building,โ Boyd said. โSo, five years of me building a business, my dream, is gone.โ
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Boyd, known for helping her community, now finds herself in need of help as she begins the daunting process of getting the salon back on its feet.
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โWe need especially your prayers, thatโs first and foremost,โ Boyd said. โWeโre thankful no one was injured or hurt. We need your prayers, we need your support from the community because everything was lost.โ