A firefighter spotted the flames while driving home from the firehouse and reported the fire shortly before 6:15 p.m. Saturday, Fire Marshal Thomas Osborne said. About a quarter of the barn was in flames, he said.
Firefighters knew that a man lived in the barn, but there was no way for them to get into the structure to look for him while it was fiercely burning, he said. They found the victim when the flames were knocked down.
The fire was mostly out in an hour, at 7:15 p.m., but firefighters continued to work on hot spots, or smoldering areas, he said.