AUBURN — A streetlight was knocked over on Minot Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, briefly blocking all four lanes of traffic.

Bruce Ray, 51, of Turner, hit the light pole in the median while pulling out of the parking lot at The Barn at about 3:30 p.m., police said. He looked for traffic before pulling out of the lot, but the pole blocked his view of the road, an officer said.

Ray was not injured.

Besides downing the light pole, the accident severed a municipal fire alarm line for The Barn, city electrician Charlie DeAngelis said.

Auburn police and fire department crews responded to the scene, as did a Central Maine Power Co. truck. Minot Avenue was closed to traffic between Agren Appliance and Court Street until CMP staff dragged the pole out of the road and into The Barn parking lot, less than half an hour after the accident. Crews worked for several hours to reconnect The Barn’s fire alarm.

The aluminum light poles are designed to fall over when hit with force, DeAngelis said. “That’s not the first time that’s happened,” he said.