LINCOLNVILLE — Kay Dinsmore was driving along Route 235 near the Lincolnville Post Office this afternoon when her car, a small Ford sedan, lost power and began smoking. Knowing she had a full tank of gas, she tried to pull over to the side of the road away from any houses or buildings. She stopped near a tall snowbank and jumped out, just moments before the engine compartment burst into flames.

“She was worried about catching houses on fire,” said Lincolnville Fire Chief Ben Hazen, who responded to the fire with 10 other volunteer firefighters.

Dinsmore was heading home, toward Lincolnville Center when something near the engine sparked. Hazen said the cause was most likely electrical, with wires possibly crossing.

When the fire department arrived with Engine 1, the front end of the car was fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters used foam and approximately 500 gallons of water to extinguish the fire. After the fire was out, Totman Enterprises towed the car to the company’s Belmont Garage.

A friend arrived to take Dinsmore back to her home.

This Monday afternoon incident was the 21st call made to the Lincolnville Fire Department in eight days, and the first call since the ice storm that had nothing to do with trees falling on wires, broken poles, or was storm-related in one way or another.

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657.