PICTURED: Inside the beauty salon gutted by candle fire
This was the scene inside a beauty salon in West Bromwich after it was gutted by a fire sparked by a candle.
The man who leases out the salon - which is used by a masseuse - on the first floor of the building in Carters Green praised firefighters and admitted it could have been much worse.
One man was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation after the blaze.
Dariusz Kowalczuk, who sub-leased the outlet to a masseuse, said it was lucky no-one was seriously injured in the incident.
He is still assessing the damage to work out how much repairs will cost.
Mr Kowalczuk, who runs a private dental and medical practice on the ground floor of the building, said: "When I heard I was worried as it was the middle of the day so I knew people would be inside.
"That was my first thought.
"It's lucky no-one was more hurt - it could have been much worse.
"We still need to wait and see how much the damage is and what to do with the electricity and the windows."
Firefighters were called to the scene in Carters Green at 5.22pm on Wednesday.
Three crews attended and the fire was put out by around 6.30pm.
Items from inside the shop were strewn across the pavement next to a bus stop after being thrown from the first floor window.
A man inside the second floor premises - named by Mr Kowalczuk as handyman Andrew Jalka - tried to extinguish the blaze himself.
He suffered smoke inhalation and was given first aid by the firefighters before being taken to Sandwell General Hospital.
A shopkeeper on the road, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "All I heard was the windows smash and then the firefighters arrived."
Watch commander Mark Sedgley said: "There was a severe fire on the second floor of a three-storey building used as a shop for beauty treatments.
"The fire was caused by candles. One male occupant was led to safety after trying to put out the fire and taken to Sandwell General Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation."
