A fire early Thursday morning destroyed a one-story house in Bowdoinham that was being renovated.

The owner of 630 Post Road was doing work on the house and sleeping in an outbuilding behind it. He woke at 4:45 a.m. and saw smoke coming from the eaves, said Fire Chief Arthur Frizzle.

When the owner opened the door to the house to look inside, the interior was in flames, Frizzle said.

Firefighters got there quickly but there was no way to save the house, Frizzle said. With the help of companies from surrounding towns, firefighters were able to extinguish the fire.

Most crews were released by 8 a.m. though a few stayed on until 10 a.m. making sure there was no lingering fire, he said.

Nobody was injured. The owner’s cat also escaped without injury.

Frizzle said the cause of the fire appears to be electrical.