A fire early on May 21 destroyed a barn at 38015 Middle Ridge Dr.

The blaze was called to 911 about 3 a.m. by Tery Hazelbaker, who lived in a small upstairs apartment in the barn, and by neighbors. The brother of the owner, who was out of town, Hazelbaker spent the night in the house instead of the apartment.

Lebanon Fire Marshal Mark Wilson said Hazelbaker was up watching movies when he went into the kitchen to get water. He saw more light than was usual on that side of the house. He looked toward the barn and saw 50-foot flames coming out of it.

The 24-foot by 36-foot pole barn with a corrugated metal roof was ablaze from one end to the other when firefighters arrived several minutes later.

Investigators were not able to determine the cause of the fire, Wilson said, though they are pretty sure it started in the apartment.

A total of 13 firefighters with eight trucks responded to the blaze.

Between three water tenders, one pumper/tender and a couple of engines, firefighters had about 12,500 gallons of water and didn't have to shuttle tenders back and forth to city hydrants.

The fire was under control by 4 a.m. and out by about 5 a.m., Wilson said.

Investigators returned later in the morning and stayed until 2 p.m.

The barn - which Wilson said was used more as a shop - held six vehicles in various stages of disrepair, a lathe, welding equipment, propane cylinders and a washer and propane dryer, among other things.

Quite a few things were stored outside the barn, he said. On the east end, flames got into a stack of tires and were spreading to a camper shell when firefighters stopped their advance.

A smaller shop between the camper shell and house was not burned and the house was never in danger, Wilson said.

Some neighbors and a few people in town reported hearing explosions about the time of the blaze and firefighters on the scene felt the ground vibrate, but Wilson said he found no evidence that an explosion started the blaze.

He said he couldn't find that the propane cylinders - the size used for barbecues - exploded. The fittings had melted away and released the contents as they are designed to.

He also examined the remains of oxygen and acetylene equipment and didn't find any that ruptured.

However, fire patterns showed that the propane cylinders and other items did feed the fire, he said.

As of Friday, Wilson said he had no information on whether the property was insured.

He also had no dollar value on the structure and said the contents were of greater value than the barn.