NORTH MONMOUTH -- Fire destroyed a two-story home and attached barn at 551 Outlet Drive Monday morning while homeowners were out of state on vacation.

Monmouth Fire Chief Andre Poulin said no one was injured in the fire that kept firefighters at the scene all morning and soured the air in much of North Monmouth with smoke.

The stubborn fire was reported at about 8:30 a.m., and crews from Monmouth, Greene, Wales, Leeds and Winthrop spent several hours battling it, pumping water from nearby Wilson Pond to spray the house and barn.

"When we got here, it was fully engulfed," said Monmouth Police Chief Robert Annese, who was closing off a section of Wilson Pond Road to travel.

The homeowners, Ron and Rebecca Hinkley, and their children were vacationing in upstate New York and headed home after being notified of the fire, Annese said. He said he was able to assure them their animals -- two dogs and a cat -- were safe.

Poulin said the family had made arrangements for the care of their animals while they were away.

Poulin said the fire started in the connecting structure between the house and the barn and may have been electrical. An investigator from the State Fire Marshal's Office was called to the scene.

As smoke and flames continued late Monday morning, red, white and yellow hoses snaked around the lawns of the home, and firefighters spread air bottles neatly on a plastic tarp on the grass.

Some firefighters shed heavy jackets and watched as others took their place to aim the hoses at the hot spots.

Dense grayish smoke billowed from the structure, and a spray of water aimed at one end of the house came out the other side.

Firefighters used long picks to bring down charred timbers, all that remained of the barn. Blackened pieces of roofing dropped to the ground when sprayed with a hose.

Neighbors gathered at the end of the drive, listening to the noise of the fire vehicles and watching water pool along the dirt drive.

Monmouth firefighters cleared the scene at 2 p.m. after bringing in an excavator to knock down the remains of the barn section.

"They basically lost everything," Poulin said late Monday afternoon. "The only things they have are what they took on vacation with them."

Poulin said he planned to talk to the Hinkleys once they returned home, and that the local Red Cross office was on stand-by if the family needed help finding a place to stay.

Betty Adams -- 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com