There's no clue as yet as to the cause of the fire that gutted a house just off the promenade and forced the evacuation of the Empress Hotel.
The occupants of one of the Island prestige hotels found themselves on the promenade in Douglas just after 5am.
The Promenade was closed for an hour while crews dealt with the fire.
The building is to the rear of the Empress facing on Castle Mona Avenue.
There were no injuries but one man had to be escorted to safety from a next door building.
Station Officer Alan Gawne:
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