SPENCER TWP. — Debbie Young’s dog Justin woke her up at 3:30 a.m. Sunday when she heard the English springer spaniel barking strangely.

“Why is it so bright out?” she said, after looking at the time.

When she looked out her bedroom window, the 111-year-old barn next to the Spencer Mills Road house was fully engulfed in flames. The barn was full of recently harvested straw and wheat.

An all-terrain vehicle, along with a tractor and several other vehicles, were destroyed early Sunday in a barn fire. (Allison Wood/Gazette)

She then called 911 and woke up her husband, Jim, who quickly moved the cars parked in a garage attached to the barn.

The garage was the only part of the structure still remaining when firefighters from eight departments finally put out the blaze at about 10 a.m. The house was not damaged.

There were no injuries, but an all-terrain vehicle, several mowers and a recently restored trailer belonging to Jim’s brother, Al Young, were destroyed, Debbie Young said Monday. Al is the football coach at Black River High School in Sullivan Township.

The fire nearly emptied the water tower a mile south in Spencer, causing a boil alert to be issued due to a drop in pressure, said Franz Stefan, EMS captain for the Spencer Community Fire District.

The fire is still being investigated, and no cause has been determined yet, he said Monday.

Other departments responding included Town and Country Fire District, Chatham Fire and Rescue, Litchfield Fire and Rescue, Lodi Fire Department, Sullivan Fire Department and Valley City Fire Department.

While there were no injuries, Debbie Young said it might have been different if it weren’t for Justin’s barking.

“He’s our hero dog,” she said.

Justin was not the only dog awake Sunday — nearby neighbors, which include in-laws Ira and Helen Young, also woke up after their own dogs started barking.

Contact Allison Wood at (330) 721-4050 or allisonwood@ohio.net.