PUERTO PLATA — A destructive blaze tore through three residential properties in the Batey 3 neighborhood of Puerto Plata in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, August 16, 2026, leaving all three structures completely destroyed by fire. The outbreak began on Margarita Mears Street, spreading rapidly before first responders could contain the inferno. By the time the fire was extinguished, all three homes had been reduced to ash, leaving the three affected households with no remaining property in the burned structures.
Among the homeowners impacted is Rafael “Felo” Messón, who serves as the Public Relations Director for the Northern Regional Directorate of the National Police based in Puerto Plata. Local fire department officials confirmed that no fatalities or critical injuries have been recorded in connection with the blaze as of Sunday afternoon, a small relief for the displaced families amid widespread material losses that have already upended their lives.
To date, investigators have not confirmed the root cause of the fire. Teams from the Puerto Plata Fire Department have launched a formal investigation to trace the origin of the blaze and document the full sequence of events that led to the destruction. Local media outlet InfoENN – El Nuevo Norte has issued an official statement extending its deepest solidarity to Messón and his family, as well as the other two households displaced by the overnight disaster, as they begin the process of recovering from the loss.