Six people were safely rescued Wednesday following a roof collapse at a strip mall in Temple City.
Theressa Nguyen, the owner of Beauty De Color Salon, is still rattled after rescuers helped her and five other people escape this roof collapse unharmed.
"The noise was really loud," she said. "We was stand up, walking inside. Finding someplace to hide. Luckily everyone was safe. Yeah."
LA County fire officials say a 50-foot section fell for unknown reasons around 4 p.m., trapping a woman in an adjacent dry cleaners and four people along with Nguyen inside her salon.
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"It felt like an earthquake," said Justin Han, who was there for a haircut. "Started hearing squeaky noises. Suddenly the roof collapsed. Everybody started running to the back."
Fire crews cleared a path because both impacted businesses lack back doors.
"We have our heavy wrecker here," said Inspector Ruben Munoz, an LA County Fire Department spokesman. "We were able to bring that up. And use that to get the debris out. And get the patients, the people out very quickly."
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Firefighters retrieved a fish tank at the salon owners request after someone told her it could be months before she's allowed back inside.
A pair of parked cars were struck by falling debris.
Survivors say they're just grateful to have all walked away.
"We just open three months," Nguyen said. "Didn't expect this to happen!"
A city inspector confirms this leg of the L-shaped structure is now red-tagged meaning it's unsafe for anyone to return.
Structural engineers are expected Thursday to help determine what caused the collapse and when repairs can begin.
