OTISFIELD — A fire that razed a large barn and multifamily home on Route 121 on Sunday started for unknown reasons in the barn, according to the Office of the State fire Marshal.

Investigators believe the fire that destroyed the home of Gary and Debbie Dyer originated on or inside the large barn stuffed with hay and spread to an attached in-law apartment and two-story home. 

No one was home at the time of the fire, though two horses and several cats perished. The Dyers operated a home-based cottage caretaking business. Gary, a former longtime fire chief in Otisfield, is a well-known figure in the community. 

There is no suspicion of foul play, though authorities are looking to speak to a man driving a cream-colored truck who is believed to have first seen and reported the fire, according to senior state investigator Dan Young.

Young said the individual circled the home, knocking on the doors and trying to release the animals in the barn.

Young said a variety of factors could have started the fire, including a working wood pellet boiler outside the barn or an electric water heater. The intensity of the blaze has removed most of the signs mapping its progression.

It was unknown if the fire detectors in the home were functioning. The family had fire insurance, he said.  

“It was a lose-lose situation for the Fire Department. There was nothing they could have done,” Young said.

Those wishing to make financial contributions may send checks made out to “East Otisfield Free Baptist Church” with “Dyer family” in the memo line. Send them to: East Otisfield Free Baptist Church, care of Pauline Flagg, 912 Bolsters Mills Road, Otisfield, ME 04270.