Firefighters battle blaze at North Pole massage parlor
Published Friday, November 7, 2008
Digg
delicious
Facebook
Mixx
Reddit
Stumble It!
FAIRBANKS — Crews from five fire stations responded to a fire at Lee’s Oriental Massage Parlor at about 9 p.m. Friday.
Firefighters from North Star Volunteer, North Pole, Fairbanks, Steese Area Volunteer and University fire departments were called to the structure fire at 1431 Old Richardson Highway and Badger Road.
The main building was engulfed in flames. What appeared to be a garage behind the building was destroyed, and smoke could be seen from the Richardson Highway.
North Star Assistant Chief Steve Crouch said when crews first arrived, the building was 30 percent engulfed in flames but increased to 100 percent soon after.
“We’re going to be here for a while,” he said.
It was believed no one was in the building at the time, but Crouch said he could not be sure at that point.
He estimated the building was a total loss.
Crews were still battling the blaze at midnight. The cause is unknown.
Earlier this year, the massage parlor owners, David and Yong Kang, were indicted for using the business to promote prostitution. The case was later dropped when a judge ruled they were incorrectly charged.
Community Discussion
Newsminer.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full user's agreement.
glad no ones hurt but i think its better for this town, the judge may have ruled they were charged incorrectly, but im pretty sure they weren't charged incorrectly.
I had heard they had a fiery redhead who was just smokin'. Guess the rumors were right.
(This comment was removed by the Newsminer.com staff. Please see our User Agreement for further information.)
Anybody heard of Insurance Fraud, I hope they don’t profit from this, I hope this is investigated so they can’t make a profit from it.
Remember to change the batteries in your smoke alarms. It might save more than your house. I don't like that any fire fighters have to be out in this cold doing a dangerous job so take a couple of minutes this weekend to reduce the risk of home fires in our neighborhoods.
Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and three times is enemy action.
That truism may not apply here, but it's highly suspicious that two significant events should happen to this establishment in close succession.
I didn't know Ms. O'Leary owned a massage parlor.
I wonder if the cow started this fire as well...
Sure must've been a hot massage.
That goose sure is cooked.
The family business went up in smoke.
The strangest thing happened on the way to market...
Ok, that's enough cliches.
Who's going to haul the ashes away?
Wonder where the new place will be?? It seems Fairbanks is getting so politically correct. People are glad when we have a house of ill repute burn down. Prior to that we had Ruthie's and prior to my time here, they had a whole section of town set aside for a red light district. What has become of our frontier town???
Shades of Telon's and Telon's II......
Yeah whorehouses and fluzzies are only cool during "golden dayz."
I hate to remind you but the very essence of Fairbanks was founded in brothels and houses of ill repute. Brought back to life in the 70's, during the pipeline boom, and now we are left with nothing but the downtown association and this vision fairbanks thing.
I think it would do the golden heart well to have this parlor rebuilt right smack in the middle of downtown Fairbanks. We've got to do our part to pay homage to this town's heritage.
simple rebuild, make it legal, and tax it like everything else, its gonna happen one way or another might as well get something for it
Hopefully they have a Happy Ending.
friction, I'm guessing
rose...!!!!
Happy Ending? Lol. Wow. I sure hope so.
Funny thing, so many people so glad to see it gone. Does anybody wonder why there is always at least one 'house of ill repute' in town? Could it be that just maybe there are customers? Any chance that any of the people so happy to see it gone are really customers trying to cover their butts?
I'm not saying I liked the place being there. Nor am I saying that I do or do not support such a place. But it does make one wonder how these places continue to exist when supposedly nobody goes there. No?
Prostitution is part of the history of fairbanks. Wonder why so many streets have female names? There's a reason for it!
Wickersham?
I drove past this on the way back from NP and could see an orange glow from flames
I laugh at the hypocrites on here. I mean the biggest complainers I am sure all voted for Uncle "Convicted" Ted and his trusty sidekick Lil Don, so you would not lose your federal welfare. At least these ladies worked for their money, think of who you voted for on Tuesday and ask who are the whores.
OMG, no... all the scented oils, the fuzzy mittens, the di.... er... all up in smoke! AKrose, you are too funny.
Happy Ending...that's punny.
It's not illegal to have sex. Why is it illegal to sell sex? Because women would have ended up being WAY too wealthy and powerful, that's why. It has nothing to do with decency. It has everything to do with power.
Spread the wealth around
Talk about after glow
What a bummer,
My punch card only needed one more spot poked to get a free one.
I hope the new place honers my card.
(This comment was removed by the Newsminer.com staff. Please see our User Agreement for further information.)
5 Fire Departments from 5 different parts of town. While North Pole and North Star probably arrived quickly, the other departments had to get to the fire before they could do anything. If the first departments on scene ran out of water before the back up arrived there isn't much they could do. It can also take a couple of minutes to set up the hose lines and get everything running, things don't happen instantaneously when the fire department arrives on scene.
Building construction also needs to be taken into account. Things like insulation type, and dead space between the ceiling and roof can cause a fire to spread rapidly even if there are fire fighters on scene.
Heck in downtown Fairbanks half the streets are named after prostitutes, like Minnie and Ida. What we call the founding ladies of Fairbanks where working gals.
this is funny. Happy Endings, punch cards, friction...
Call me naive, but I didnt know there were "massage parlors" in FNSB.
Maybe thats why we can't ever find a politician or policeman when we need one.
Good riddens! Sounds suspicious to me also...
I wonder who the filthy men are who promote and pay for prostitution in Fairbanks. Do they have daughters? Are they the type of men that wish for their wife or girlfriend to give birth to baby girls so that they can grow up and keep this disgusting business going for men like them?
listen to your words, its not illegal to have sex, so why is it illegal to sell it.
it is also not illegal to do drugs (in alaska) so why is it illegal to sell it?
yet vote after vote alaska elects officals that think laws should be based on their morals, not what is logically senseable.
I guess ya get what ya sow.
I have heard several mention it on this thread, PLEASE FNSB, build a new and better house right in the middle of town!! Fairbanks history is based on prostitution and, as someone else put it, why is it only celebrated on Golden Daze?!?! We need some history, you have already torn down all the bars, build some history back into Fairbanks. I am tired of seeing those new "plans" for a new and vitalized downtown, if you built a couple of new houses down there, you would see a vitalized downtown!!!
It is a great spot for a schoolbus turnout. Something about the little schoolkids waiting for the bus out in front of a seedy looking massage parlor didn't look quite right.
(This comment was removed by the Newsminer.com staff. Please see our User Agreement for further information.)
Mariebarr, thank you for letting the Fairbanks community know, "the other departments had to get to the fire before they could do anything." It seems logical to me but maybe there are some out there who don't understand you have to get to a fire before you can fight it.
The Bible Baptist Church prayed for this fire. It was the all to rare Alaskan winter lightning strike that started the fire.
There are other towns that was founded much like ours, one is called Las Vegas.
Today massage parlors, tomorrow Caesars Palace of the North.
I wonder if anyone died from selling SEX...I mean, people die from drugs and beer and wiskey and cars and etc. Just another law passed by the government to keep us in order.
Columbus, Al Capone, John Holmes
Two 'strange" fires in a week or so. Very interesting?
Who is John Holmes?
It does seem pretty logical, but if there is one thing I have learned reading the comments here it's that logic gets thrown out the window when someone gets to criticize anything even remotely connected to the government.
(This comment was removed by the Newsminer.com staff. Please see our User Agreement for further information.)
Meeeeeeooooooow crazykat
We need to contact that Home makeover dude on TV and get him back up here to rebuild for these now homeless girls
Nuts!!
The oldest profession is the most dangerous, too. However I feel about prostitution (I have mixed feelings), it isn't ever going away. Supply and demand. And while I like the idea of legalizing it to regulate it and monitor the health and well-being of the employees...how many customers are really going to want even the possibility of their identities known?
"It was believed no one was in the building at the time..." Yeah, right at 9pm on a Friday? When the fire broke out it must have been a rather hilarious sight watching the mass evacuation.
Hope no one was hurt.
MrsS
Irregardless of what you may think about these "houses", they are an intrigal part of the Fairbanks history!! We have had this since the first days of this town, and we should embrace it, not shy away from it.
(This comment was removed by the Newsminer.com staff. Please see our User Agreement for further information.)
Some source I know told me that the location of the massage parlor was the old El Rancho Motel site, and like AKHockeyFan posted : 'that the judge may have ruled they were charged incorrectly, but im pretty sure they weren't charged incorrectly' ... the same source I mentioned told me the saaaaaaaaaame thing.....
I just wonder who the presiding judge or district attorney was- <COUGHS : *#CL_/# I_/#ENT_*> (excuse me) -was to dismiss the case although the facts could have been borderline as to whether to prosecute or not....
If that is the old El Rancho Motel property, this wasnt the first time the structure (or at least the location) caught on fire.... good thing appearently no one was present when the blaze happened but you kind of wonder how this fire started - the area has known to be rumored as a drug haven in the past... maybe a hot oil lamp and velvet walls were a main contributer or the electrical system... I cant see some 'unattended cooking' existing while having a business like that, although that wouldnt totally surprise me either....I am sure all us readers and the insurance company (if involved) are curious to know what the fire marshall will determine in the report.....
As far as street names in Fairbanks , I figured they were all named after crooks and whores, however you cant plow enough new roads in this town fast enough to name everybody now... We need to rename Airport Way after Ruthie since she was an icon to this town from what the pioneers told me ... out of respect !!!!
On a different note, US House Representitive Don Young had an old campaign headquarters building in Anchorage, which was the former site of Cindys Massage Parlor. -source: Mr. Whitekeys.
I am sure the borough is saddened by the tax revenue its going to lose -from a commercial status to a vacant lot....you think the owners will rebuild ?
Poor Gentleman loss his club, boo hoo hoo hoo
crazykat,
The reasons for frequenting prostitutes are as varied as the men themselves.
MrS
The cause could have been arson, as in someone opposed to the business deliberately setting it aflame. There was a spate of massage parlor arsons down south a few years ago. The arsonist claimed that God told him to burn them down.
I think it is all pretty even with men stepping out and women stepping out in this town from what I have seen in the past 33 years of living here.
I do know that during a large deployment of our troops there are quite a few women at the nightclubs with wedding band tan lines.
But then again, that is just what I have seen.
Why is there not a cathouse for women?
I always wonder....how can a building go up in flames so quickly but I cant get the fire in my woodstove to stay lit!!!!!!
Glow, I thought of that also. Or maybe a jealous spouse? Or it could have been something completely unrelated to the type of business it was, like an electrical problem.
Very few fires are actually electrical in origin but it is usually what is said when the investigator doesn’t have a clue. AKsilvereagle The ADA prosecuting the case is a woman and not a client. I hope, she’s my wife.
Sean, that was the joke :)
Our wilderness cabin burned down some years back. The fire chief told us it was probably an electrical fire. But when we reminded him that the cabin did not have electricity, he said then that the fire was probably started by a mouse chewing on a match. As you can tell, investigating the cause of the blaze was not high on his list of priorities.
"The Best Little Whore-House in Alaska"
Starring Sarah Palin as Dolly Parton
and Ted Stevens as Burt Reynolds......
Episode 1 Nailin' Palin
Episode 2 Feelin' Young
Episode 3 Stevens shares a Kott
LEAVE IT TO LOST, ANGRY, AND HAIRBRAIN to come up with that.
A lost angry hairbrain from goldstream
Episode 4 Playin' In The Pen With Ben
Episode 5 My bisch Stepovich
On a serious note, all kidding aside. Is Bill Allen getting the contract to rebuild the El Roncho Motel? And if he does, what kind of "extras" will he add on at no charge?
Does this mean everyone in Fairbanks is related?
I hope you all get checked before having sex with
someone here it may be a relative. Sorry just a thought.......
When Veco gets the contract to rebuild the El Roacho (or is it the El Rauncho) I think they will have plans to add at no extra charge - an exclusive Joseph F. Boehm VIP room, plus a larger Bruno Bordonici extortion private lounge room with a gazebo for group parties.
I just wish they would get VECO contractors to build it downtown!! We need some houses of ill repute downtown. Maybe even ones with gambling in them...a double good deal!!
Post a comment
Commenting requires registration.