
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 25, 1994                    TAG: 9406250255 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940625                                 LENGTH: PORTSMOUTH

FLAMES SWEEP GO-GO BAR IN PORTSMOUTH

{LEAD} The Flame, a go-go bar on George Washington Highway, was swept by fire early Friday. No one was injured.

Fire Department Lt. Bruce Sterling said the bar, in the 3500 block of George Washington Highway, was nearly destroyed by the blaze that started shortly after 6 a.m.

{REST} Firefighters battled the flames for about two hours before it was brought under control, Sterling said.

Building inspectors, he said, have ordered the structure boarded up while the owner decides what to do with the property. Sterling said that he believed only some pool tables and video games are salvageable.

Sterling said the cause of the fire had not been determined. The investigation will continue next week.

``We pretty much spent the afternoon cleaning out debris,'' Sterling said. ``It got to the point that the heat was so bad, we stopped at 3:30. We'll pick up again Monday morning.''

Sterling said the fire likely started in the rear of the building, near the kitchen.

Victor Oshia, the club's manager, said the bar featured 10 dancers. It closed for business Thursday at 2 a.m. An alarm at his home alerted him to the fire about 6:05 a.m., he said.

Wallace Lawson, who owns the property, said that Oshia has operated the bar for about five months. The building, Lawson said, has housed a variety of go-go bars and other alcohol-serving establishments during the 15 years of his ownership.

That part of George Washington Highway, Lawson said, has several other go-go bars, including Lickety-Splits and Maddog's, which are next door to The Flame.

The fire is the second at an area go-go club this month. J.B.'s Gallery of Girls in the 600 block of S. Military Highway in Virginia Beach was destroyed June 6.

A bouncer at that club, Reginald J. Gilbert Jr., 29, of the 500 block of Hyde Park Road in Norfolk, was arrested and charged with slaying and robbing his boss, Edward Brooks Hamilton, 55, the club manager. Hamilton was shot several times in the head.

Gilbert, who also was charged with setting the club on fire, is being held in jail without bail in Virginia Beach.

{KEYWORDS} FIRE

by CNB