About 80 firefighters from Cecil County, Md., and Lancaster and Chester counties battled a two-alarm blaze that tore through a Little Britain Township barn Wednesday afternoon.

Robert Fulton Fire Company Chief Ray Glick said the fire, which was reported about 1:45 p.m., started when a belt on an exhaust fan overheated, igniting hay stored on the barn's second floor. The fire caused an estimated $200,000 damage.

The barn is on a farm at 55 Clendenin Road and is owned by Aaron and Anna Stoltzfus.

When the first crews arrived, heavy fire and smoke were punching through the roof and shooting out of the second-floor windows, Glick said.

Firefighters used hand lines to put down the flames, which traveled quickly through the wooden structure, he said.

Glick said it took crews an hour and a half to bring the blaze under control.

"It took a while to get ahead of it," he said. "The barn had a tin roof, which holds in heat — that, and the amount of hay in the barn, made it very difficult."

Water was hauled to the site by tanker trucks from several area departments, Glick said.

Crews were able to contain the blaze to the one structure, saving two nearby silos and a milk house, he said.

Glick said structural damage is estimated at $150,000, with loss to contents estimated at $50,000. Some contents were salvageable, he said.

Horses and cows live on the farm but were not near the barn at the time of the fire.

Because of Wednesday's heat and humidity, firefighters were "rehabbed" every 20 minutes, Glick said. Ambulance crews were on hand to check vital signs and make sure fire personnel stayed hydrated.

Crews remained at the scene until about 9 p.m., wetting down hot spots and clearing debris that had fallen through the floor of the barn, Glick said.

In addition to Robert Fulton, crews responding to the blaze were Bart Township Fire Company, Quarryville Fire Company, Refton Fire Company, Union Fire Company (Chester County), Rising Sun Volunteer Fire Company (Cecil County, Md.) and Water Witch Fire Company (Cecil County, Md.). West Willow Fire Company, Christiana Fire Company and Rawlinsville Fire Company were on stand-by.

Also Wednesday, Lancaster city firefighters responded to two early morning house fires in the southeast section of the city.

According to published reports, Michael and Donna Mowery and their 1-year-old daughter, Trinity, climbed out of a second-floor window onto a porch roof to escape a fire at 535 E. Strawberry St.

Fire officials said the 3:08 a.m. blaze started near an air conditioner in the living room of the home.

Michael Mowery suffered cuts, but there were no serious injuries. Fire officials said damage is estimated at $30,000.

A short time later, crews responded to a fire at 124 Dauphin St., where Tony Roman was awakened by a smoke detector as he slept on a living room couch, fire officials said.

According to reports, Roman woke his wife, Violet; two grandchildren, ages 9 and 12; and a friend, Herberto Rodriguez, who was sleeping on the second floor.

All safely got out of the house. Violet Roman was taken to Lancaster General Hospital to be examined for injuries.

Damage was estimated at $4,000 to the structure and $1,000 to contents.

Fire officials said the cause of both fires was electrical.

E-mail: jtodd@lnpnews.com