Firefighters find body inside strip club during a call

Columbus firefighters discovered a body inside an East Side gentleman’s club Friday morning while investigating a fire at the business.

A passerby reported smoke coming from the rear of a building in the 1900 block of Lake Club Drive at about 6:38 a.m. The address listed is that of The Confidential Gentlemen’s Club.

When firefighters arrived at 6:44 a.m., Battalion Chief Steve Martin said the business was filled with smoke, but the fire was relatively small and “contained quickly.” Firefighters found a person inside and removed them, but that person was pronounced dead within 10 minutes after arrival.

Martin said the victim, whose gender was not released, will undergo an autopsy to determine if the death was caused by the fire.

“Sometimes, someone will set a fire to hide the evidence of a homicide,” he said.

Columbus police homicide detectives were not involved in the investigation as of midmorning, said Sgt. James Fuqua, a police division spokesman. Detectives will likely await the coroner’s findings.

Martin said firefighters pronouncing the victim dead as soon as the body was removed from the building “would indicate that the person had been dead for a while and there was no chance of us reviving them.”

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, Martin said.

An attempt to contact club management was unsuccessful as the listed phone number has been changed, the new number is unknown, and the called party is temporarily unavailable, according to an automated message. jfutty@dispatch.com @johnfutty