A barn was ravaged by fire early Monday morning in Washington Township.

Friedens Fire Company Assistant Fire Chief Jeremy Merkel said firefighters were dispatched at 12:20 a.m. to the barn fire along Swamp Hollow Road.

Merkel said it was dispatched as a structure fire after a neighbor saw smoke and flames coming from the barn.

Upon arrival, he said firefighters encountered a 40-by-80-foot, fully involved barn fire.

“The first engine pulled multiple hand lines off, also laid large diameter hose, began extinguishment, and tankers were doing water shuttles from a nearby pond,” said Merkel, who added it took about 2½ to 3 hours to knock down the fire. “Within that time, the owner of the barn, his brother, brought an excavator over and helped rip the hay bales out and rip them apart so that we could put the ones that were on fire out.”

Merkel said there were no injuries, but added that the barn was a total loss.

He said half the barn had hay bales, while the other half contained three tractors and one combine, all of which were lost.

Merkel said the cause of the fire is undetermined, as attested by several fire marshals who were called out to the scene.

He said firefighters remained on scene for nearly five hours.

Merkel said the Emerald Fire Department, Slatedale Fire Department, Slatington Fire Department, Neffs Fire Department, Schnecksville Fire Department, Germansville Fire Department, New Tripoli Fire Department, Lehigh Township Fire Department, Diamond Fire Company in Walnutport, Aquashicola Fire Department and Bowmanstown Fire Department also assisted.

“For that time of the morning, we actually had a good amount of people respond, and everything went pretty well (considering),” he said.