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Second Fire In A Week Breaks Out At Gay Tampa Bathhouse

The Ybor Spa and Resort was sold to new owners in February.

Fire has broken out at a gay Florida bathhouse for the second time in a week.

Firefighters were called to Ybor Resort & Spa on March 11 to put out a fire that ultimate cost $100,000 and was ruled arson, though no arrests were made. Then, on Saturday, another blaze began at the club, which is currently vacant.

Two young men relaxing in sauna.

Crews arrived some time after 3am to find smoke and flames billowing from the windows of the Eighth Avenue business. The blaze was so serious that a second alarm was sent for more units. By Sunday morning, there was still concern the fire might spread to nearby businesses, though no injuries were reported.

The resort opened in 2009, billing itself as Tampa Bay's only gay-owned and operated "private men's club, resort (and) bathhouse," with a hotel, club, 50-person hot tub and a maze room and other "intimacy zones."

Former owner Vincent Pawlowski told the Tamp Bay Times he sold the building on February 8 and closed down the spa at the end of the month. He claims he turned the keys over to its new owners on March 8, four days before the first fire.

The spa made headlines in 2012, when it invited GOP delegates in town for the Republican National Convention to visit for free. Aaron Schock, the disgraced-but-totally-not-gay Illinois Representative, was spotted outside the club during the convention by TMZ.

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