POLAND – A woman was slightly injured fleeing from an early morning fire at 222 Summit Springs Road, said Fire Chief Willie Rice.

The fire destroyed a two-story barn and much of its contents as well as two vehicles parked near the structure. One, a Toyota Prius hybrid, was practically new, the chief said.

He estimated total damage at between $60,000 and $100,000. The state fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the blaze, Rice said. It didn’t appear to be suspicious, however.

He said the fire apparently had been burning for some time before the two tenants living at the adjacent house noticed the blaze. They were awakened by a car alarm sounding, Rice said. The alarm would have been triggered by a short-circuit caused by melting wires, he explained.

Rice said he didn’t have the tenants’ or owner’s names with him at his house, where he was interviewed by telephone Sunday night. The woman who was injured while getting away from the burning barn suffered either a sprain or fractured ankle, he said.

The second tenant wasn’t hurt. Three cats also escaped the fire, he said.

Rice credited quick response by Poland firefighters and mutual aid responders from New Gloucester, Minot, Mechanic Falls and Casco for preventing the fire from spreading to the house where the women lived. He said the house is only about 25 feet away from the barn. The house suffered some scorching but not serious damage, he said.

“Our tanker is out of service, so the supply of water from the other firefighters was critical. They did an excellent job,” Rice said. “We couldn’t do it without the mutual aid system,” he added.

No one was hurt fighting the fire, he added.

The house and barn are owned by a Massachusetts man, Rice said, who was notified of the fire later Sunday.

He said the barn housed a generator, but that appeared to be in good condition and not the ignition point of the fire. Also stored in the barn were a couple of cords of firewood and some odds and ends, he said.