A large pole building used as a garage burned to the ground during a fire late Saturday night in Washington Township.

Slatington Deputy Fire Chief Jason Nicholas said the incident occurred at 2648 Welshtown Road, just north of the borough of Slatington.Nicholas said firefighters from Slatington and Emerald fire departments were initially dispatched to the fire at 10:13 p.m. for a garage that was on fire.He said the fire was through the roof of the 60-by-40-foot pole building that belonged to Oswald Trucking in Slatington, the owners of the residence.Nicholas said they had a brand-new tractor, as well as numerous vehicles inside the workshop that burned, as there were multiple explosions.He said that prompted them to call for a second alarm. Slatedale, Friedens, Lehigh Township and Palmerton fire departments arrived on scene, while Northern Valley Ambulance was also called.Due to the intensity, Nicholas said they had to call in additional tankers from Schnecksville and Neffs fire departments, while Neffs supplied a ladder truck, Germansville Fire Department supplied an engine for standby, Macungie Ambulance's rehab unit was called in to assist with rehab, Greenawalds Fire Company's Rapid Intervention Team also responded, and Slatington and Washington Township supplied salt trucks.He said the freezing temperatures were in issue, and added they didn't clear the scene until 2:35 a.m. Sunday."The house was about 30 feet from the garage," Nicholas said. "The only damage to the residence was some siding that melted, windows, (but) no fire damage to the residence."Nicholas said the homeowners were home, as the wife woke up the husband, saying that the garage was on fire, but that no one was injured."My primary concern because of the intensity of the fire was to protect the exposure and save the house, which we accomplished," he said. "It was a challenging fire. Everybody worked well together. We did the best with what we had."