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“If ever there was a sign from the universe that it was time to move on, I was like, ‘Of course I go on vacation and the salon catches on fire.’”
Stylist Lucy Ankner works with a client at Lucy Danger Hair in Belmont in April. Suzanne Kreiter / The Boston Globe, File
May 19, 2026 | 2:43 PM
2 minutes to read
A Belmont hairstylist is calling it quits after her salon was gutted in a devastating three-alarm fire that also destroyed a beloved ice cream shop next door.
Lucy Ankner was away on vacation when flames spread from Moozy’s Ice Cream Emporium to her neighboring Lucy Danger Hair salon early last Thursday. The vacation had been sorely needed; Ankner said she’d welcomed the idea of getting away for a bit after spending the past year battling persistent roof leaks, mold issues, and an unresponsive new landlord.
“I thought, ‘Oh, finally, we’re going to go on vacation. We’re going to have this nice time,’” she recalled Tuesday. “And then I go on vacation, and the building catches on fire.”
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Ankner returned home to extensive smoke and water damage, as well as a massive hole in a shared wall between Moozy’s and her Trapelo Road salon. Belmont fire officials are still working to determine the fire’s cause, but Ankner said the catastrophic blaze made it clear she was due for a career change.
“Honestly, I was like, ‘You know what? This is a sign. I think maybe this is the end of the road for me in the salon industry,’” she recalled. “If ever there was a sign from the universe that it was time to move on, I was like, ‘Of course I go on vacation and the salon catches on fire.’”
Ankner emailed clients this week announcing her decision to leave the industry altogether, officially shuttering the salon she opened in 2023.
“As hard as this is, I feel hopeful for the future,” Ankner wrote. “I want to move toward something more personally fulfilling, and I’m choosing to see this as an opportunity to begin again in a different direction.”
She told Boston.com she’d been considering a new line of work for some time, possibly even animal rescue. In the meantime, Ankner has launched a GoFundMe to help Lucy Danger Hair stylists Sarah Paul Migliozzi and Theresa Curran replace their tools and recover some income while they look for new work.
“They’re both really lovely girls, they’re very talented, and I wanted them to be able to at least get something positive out of this horrible situation, and hopefully thrive in their careers,” she explained.
According to Ankner, the fire left both stylists without any brushes, combs, blowdryers, or hair color — losses totaling thousands of dollars.
“The only thing I was able to get from the building after the fire was I grabbed everyone’s scissors, because those are metal, so I figured those would probably survive,” she said. “But everything else is lost.”
In her email to customers, Ankner said she will be reaching out to clients over the coming weeks and months to provide color formulas, notes, and stylist recommendations. She said the outreach may take some time, though, as her schedule was nearly full through October.
Meanwhile, GoFundMe donations and online messages of support for Lucy Danger Hair have continued to flood in.
“It’s been very emotional for me,” Ankner said. “Obviously I knew my clients loved us, but really seeing that amount of people reaching out and emailing me, texting me, donating, it’s made me realize what a big impact my salon has had over the years.”
Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.
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