SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Fire struck a strip club after it closed early Monday, killing nine employees who lived on the floor above the establishment, officials said.

The fire at Jazzys was already out by the time neighbors notified authorities of the blaze about 4 a.m., said Col. Rafael Javier Bueno of the East Santo Domingo fire department.

The victims, including six women and three men, died of smoke inhalation and were found on the second floor, Bueno said. They were the only people inside the building at the time.

"Everyone who was inside the club died," Bueno said.

A preliminary investigation indicated an electric short-circuit caused the fire, national police chief Bernardo Santana Paez said.

The fire, which was confined to the interior of the two-story building, charred tables, chairs. There was smoke damage on the second floor, which was divided into several small bedrooms and a large living space with five mattresses on the floor.

The windows on the top floor were barred, leaving a single staircase leading down into the club as the only possible escape route.