OAKLAND TWP — A fire that may have been started by a wood burner destroyed a single-story home Thursday night.

John Winters lived alone at 114 Saeler Lane. Both he and his pet dog escaped the house unharmed when it caught fire about 4:30 p.m.

“It wasn’t bad when we got out,” he said at the scene, holding his black lab by a leash.

Winters said the home was heated with a wood-burning furnace. He said he had just thrown wood into the furnace shortly before the blaze started.

“I think that may have sparked it,” Winters said. “But we don’t know yet.”

Winters had lived there for about 20 years.

“It’s all wood,” he said of the home’s structure.

Fire Chief Jeff Stoner of the Oneida Valley Volunteer Fire Department said the blaze was difficult to fight.

“The roof collapsed in on the home so we had trouble putting it out,” he said. “It was unsafe to go inside after it.”

Winters said he saw the fire begin mostly on the roof of the home and near the chimney. He said he recently cleaned the chimney so he didn’t believe it was the cause of the fire.

Stoner said he had no estimate on the value of the property, which was a complete loss.

“It’s too early to tell,” he said.

He said there was no insurance on the home.

Stoner said at the scene it was too early to tell what caused the fire, but said Winters told firefighters he believed it may have been the furnace.

“There’s not much I can say right now about what caused it,” he said. “It’s still under investigation.”

A woodpile near the home caught fire as crews were battling the flames, but no surrounding property was damaged.

“It was mostly contained to the home,” Stoner said.

Firefighters from a dozen volunteer departments assisted for multiple hours.

Stoner said extra units were called because of the cold weather and the complexity of the fire.

Units from Bruin, Chicora, East Butler, Herman, Lick Hill, Mercer Road, Butler Fire District 3, Petrolia, Saxonburg, Unionville and West Sunbury volunteer fire departments also responded to the fire.

They all left by 8:30 p.m.

Winters said he was not sure where he would be staying at night.