PLYMOUTH – The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office believes a fire that burned through a family home in the Town of Plymouth Friday was the result of a burglar’s arson.

Sheriff’s Lt. Richard Cobb said police were called to investigate the incident after the Chenango County Bureau of Fire’s Cause and Origin Team determined the source of the blaze to be suspicious.

“At this time, we believe the fire was intentionally set and we believe this may have been done during a break-in and larceny at the residence,” said Cobb yesterday.

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the detective’s division at 337-1863.

Cobb said detectives and the home’s two occupants inspected the residence and found missing and displaced belongings as well as a point of forced entry.

“When the fire began, all the power was turned off at the residence and the homeowners were out of state,” he added.

The Plymouth Fire Department responded at about 9:27 a.m. Friday after a fire began in the spilt-level, ranch-style home’s lowest floor at 4091 State Highway 23. The residence has a ground-level finished basement with sliding glass doors, a mid-level floor with a front door and a second story above it.

Crews found smoke pouring out of the building and flames licking their way up from the lower floor to the middle of the home when they arrived.