HAMPDEN – Investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s Office say they may never know what started a fire Sunday that destroyed a Main Road auto shop.

After inspecting what’s left of Bickford Auto Body and digging through charred debris, all they could determine was that the fire began near the ceiling toward the back of the building, Sgt. Tim York of the State Fire Marshal’s Office said Tuesday.

“The cause of the fire is undetermined due to the extent of the damage,” he said.

Owner Gary Bickford walked around the blackened site Tuesday, bundled up in a knit hat and coat as he surveyed the twisted piles of corrugated metal and the sooty interior of the facility he opened in Hampden back in 1981.

“As far as I know, I’m going to rebuild right here,” Bickford said, sitting in the warm cab of his truck as an insurance adjuster inspected the ruined building.

The business and equipment inside were insured, and Bickford hopes to reopen soon in a temporary location, he said. He had worried that a proposed state rule limiting development around bald eagle nesting areas would prevent him from rebuilding on the same site, but the state says that’s unlikely.

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife notified the town of the proposed rule after a pair of bald eagles was discovered last spring nesting along the Penobscot River, DIF&W biologist Charlie Todd said Tuesday.

The rule would apply only during the breeding season – which begins in mid-March and lasts through May – and only part of Bickford’s property falls within the protected zone around the nesting site, Todd said.In the meantime, Bickford’s 11 employees, most of whom lost thousands of dollars’ worth of tools in the fire, are standing by him, he said.

“The guys that work for me are loyal,” he said. “Without them, I couldn’t be in business.”

His “No. 1” office employee, Diane Dall, even managed to salvage Friday’s deposit from two bags that melted together during the fire, Bickford said. The checks were burned around the edges, but intact, he said.

“She saved the whole deposit, a $10,000 deposit,” he said, briefly breaking into a weary smile.

Before the fire, this year was the best the business has ever had, he said.

“All I ever did was make a living out of this place, and finally we made a profit,” he said, shaking his head.

Bickford, 65, planned to retire in five years from the business he started in 1962. If things go his way, he might still do it, he said.

Beyond his employees, friends and community members have reached out to offer their help, Bickford said. He teared up just talking about it, pointing to a list on his truck’s center console where he had written the names of more than 20 people who had offered to lend a hand.

“I have competitors that have called me and offered me help,” he said. “I’m overwhelmed by how much support I’ve gotten.”

Moments later, Bickford rolled down his window to talk to a man from Bouchard & Sons Towing of Hampden who had stopped by to retrieve a vehicle.

“Let me know if I can do anything,” the man said, cuffing Bickford on the arm.

“Thank you,” Bickford said.