Sixteen volunteer fire companies, including Union Bridge from Carroll County, assisted Walkersville firefighters in Frederick County at 2: 57 p.m. on Monday, responding to a five-alarm barn fire in the 9100 block of Stauffer Road.

The blaze, which caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, was brought under control in 90 minutes, said W. Feron Taylor, deputy state fire marshal.

The fire was ruled accidental, the result of spontaneous combustion inside one of hundreds of bales and large rolls of hay being stored in the barn, which is owned by Auburn Farms, a limited partnership, Taylor said.

Pub Date: 9/16/98