HOLLIS — A fire in Hollis on Sunday that displaced a family of four is under investigation.

Hollis Fire and Rescue Chief Chris Young said firefighters responded to a call at 192 Wakefield Road around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Young said no one was home when the fire began, and the fire was “pretty well involved” when firefighters arrived on the scene. The fire started on the front side of the two story home, and is believed to have originated on the first floor, said Young.

The fire was a total loss, and the home had to be torn down by an excavator for safety purposes in order to extinguish the fire, said Young.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time and the fire is under investigation, said Young.

No one was injured in the fire, said Young. He said two cats may have died in the fire, as there were two cats that were believed to be home at the time of the fire, though fire fighters saw two cats near the rubble Sunday evening, but it is unknown if those were the cats who lived at the home.

“We don’t know what happened,” said Thomas Martel, who lived in the home with his wife, Jackie Bubier and their two daughters, ages 12 and 15.

The couple was sorting through the charred remains on Monday afternoon.

Martel said he came home around 1:45 with his daughters and saw flames coming through the window and smoke.

“There’s hardly anything left, just a few knick knacks,” he said.

They are currently staying with family members but they plan to rebuild, they said.

“You can’t think about everything you lost because it’s just overwhelming,” said Bubier. “You’ve just got to think about what you need to do next.”

Young said Hollis received mutual aid from nine other fire departments. He said there were no fire hydrants in the area of the fire and other communities had to bring in trucks with water tanks to assist.

American Red Cross, Maine Region Spokeswoman Ann Kim said in a written statement that the Red Cross is working with the family to ensure they have food,

Disaster responders from the American Red Cross of Maine were working with two people on Sunday to ensure that they had food, a safe place to sleep and other essentials. The Red Cross will be in contact with the family to provide financial assistance and community referrals as they begin to make their road to recovery, said Kim.

Family friend Cathy Gray has set up an online funding page for the family on www.gofundme.com. As of Monday afternoon, more than $3,800 of the $5,000 had been raised.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.