Whanganui senior station officer Aaron Summerhays said there was extensive damage throughout the building.
“We ended up with four appliances up there.
“The shops upstairs have also sustained some smoke damage.”
In a Facebook post, Hair Creations owner Debbie Smith said “the future is uncertain at this time”.
“It is with a heavy heart I advise my clients that there was a fire at the St John’s Hill complex in the early hours of this morning,” she said.
“There has been a lot of damage and Hair Creations is now un-operational.”
More to come.
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.