The experience of a Regina man who was inside a tanning bed when it caught fire is generating anxiety among clientele at other salons.

Fire department officials confirmed Tuesday that the Monday morning fire began in a tanning bed, causing an estimated $300,000 in damages to the business and a portion of the strip mall affected by the fire.

A man inside the unit, Jason Viles, escaped without serious injury. He told CBC News on Monday that a portion of his stomach felt like it may have been in contact with flames, but he was otherwise fine. Paramedics on the scene had also checked him out.

Viles is, himself, connected to the recreation industry as the owner of Jason's Pools and Spas, which sells hot-tubs, among other leisure products.

The incident naturally caught the interest of other tanning salon operators in Regina and their customers.

"Almost every second person coming through the door is mentioning something about it," Tera Marr, a part-owner of Tropicana Tan in Regina, told CBC News on Tuesday.

One element of Viles' experience has especially attracted notice. On Monday he spoke about how difficult it was to get out of the tanning bed, when he realized something was wrong.

"I was panicking there, because I couldn't lift [the cover] up," Viles said as he recounted his story. "And I don't like tight spaces like that."

That description resonates for many tanning customers, Jennifer Weber, a member of the staff at Millennium Tanning Salon, told CBC News.

"I'm sure it's a fear that most people have of going to tanning places," Weber said. The Millennium Salon was the location of Monday's fire.

The bed involved was described as the Leonardo 360 High-Pressure unit, imported from Italian manufacturers through an American distributor. It was said to have a mechanism that locks the cover in place.

Other bed styles do not operate that way, a feature being emphasized by Tropicana Tan's Marr.

"At any time, you can raise the bed. You can go up and down," Marr told CBC News. "It doesn't lock in place whatsoever. And that makes the customer feel a lot more comfortable."

When people raise questions about safety, Marr said, "I just reassure people. I mean, it is safe. We do inspect our beds on a regular basis. Everything is installed by professional electricians. So, I mean, there's nothing to worry about."

Fire investigators were still working on the case on Tuesday, as was the owner of the salon, James Plummer, who told CBC News he is trying to reach the distributor to learn more about the device he had in his shop.