When Alan Schardon stepped out of his barn Wednesday morning, he saw his Marengo ranch on fire and local law enforcement officers working to put out the blaze. "It started in the bedroom," Schardon said, adding that he believes a power strip could have caused the fire in the 22500 block of Grand Road. Schardon said he was the only one home about 8:15 a.m., the time of the fire. "I was cleaning up my truck and I thought I saw smoke, and then saw the sheriff show up," he said.