TEMPLE – People keep telling Ryan Amero he should be thankful that he wasn’t inside his home on Varnum Pond Road when it caught fire Tuesday afternoon. But all he can think of is his dog, Brandy, and his kitten, Kyle, who died in the blaze, he said.

The dog didn’t stand a chance, Amero said, but the worst thing was he kept hearing the kitten meowing and he couldn’t get in to save either of them.

“I’m pretty devastated. I just buried them both. I buried them together because they were friends,” Amero said Wednesday, as his voice grew gruff and he choked back tears. “You never know until you are a victim. I lost everything.”

About 20 firefighters from Temple and Farmington responded to the fire reported by Amero about 4:23 p.m. Tuesday but the building and camper were too far gone to save when they arrived, Temple Fire Chief George Blodgett said. He added the fire was caused by an overheated wood stove.

Amero, whose house wasn’t insured, had built a 16-by 16-foot building and had the mobile camper he used to sleep in snugged up to the building, he said. The addition was his main living space. He bought an acre of property from his stepfather in September and planned to finish building the house next spring.

“It ain’t much but it’s all I own,” Amero said, as he peered into the charred remains where the wood stove had been Wednesday.

He had opened the wood stove damper before going to the Farmington McDonald’s to get something to eat Tuesday. When he returned the makeshift home was in flames.

“I wasn’t even gone 20 minutes,” he said. He saw flames coming out a window upon his return. “I knew something weren’t right.”

He ran to the door and opened it but air backdrafted in fueling the fire causing flames to shoot out over his head, he said. He shut the door and called 911, he said.

He was to meet with an American Red Cross volunteer Wednesday morning. Local businesses are also saying they will help, Amero’s girlfriend, Tiffany Bunnell said.

“There is nothing salvageable. I’ve been in there. All my clothes are burned,” Amero said.

He’ll be bouncing around to the different homes of family and friends and is hoping he gets through the winter, he said. He has a part-time job at a wood mill but has no money to rebuild at this time, Amero said.

“I’m broke,” he said.