Narrowband Hα imaging and intermediate- and high-resolution optical spectrophotometry have been obtained for the blue compact dwarf Wolf-Rayet galaxy Mrk 1094. The galaxy presents a bar-shaped structure and is currently undergoing a strong star formation burst distributed in several spatially separated knots. Analysis of the properties of the individual knots indicates that the brightest ones have sizes and luminosities similar to those of giant H II regions in Local Group galaxies. The Hα equivalent width map of Mrk 1094 indicates that star formation has not been strictly coeval all along the bar. We discuss the different processes that could explain these observational facts and conclude that interaction with a companion H I cloud could be the reason for the present enhanced star-forming process and the bar-shaped distribution of the different star-forming knots.