SOSUA, Puerto Plata.- A voracious fire caused by a lit candle destroyed the homes of 14 families, leaving its dozens of members without shelter, on Friday night.

The business, worth millions, was property of an Army sergeant, whose name was not offered, but the Sosúa Fire Department chief Jacobo Martinez said that he is a bodyguard of the general Antonio Imbert.

Martinez said that the now-charred house was located near the Larimar hotel and the Polonia restaurant and that there was no electricity at the time of the fire.

The Sosúa Firefighters, who managed to put out the flames and kept it from reaching other residences, also got all of the occupants of the burned house unharmed, but lost most of their properties.

On Friday night, province governor Francis Vargas visited the site and distributed mattresses and wood to rebuild the establishment.

For their part, the Red Cross donated blankets and food to the families which were left homeless and were taken to the homes of relatives and friends.

Sosúa’s Civil Defense director, Héctor Vásquez, said that he would take the remaining families to shelters and last night provided them with mattresses, wood and meals given by the Puerto Plata authorities.