PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette Fire ripped through this large barn at the Carson farm near Avis on Wednesday night, causing an estimated $500,000 in damage to the building and loss in equipment. Firefighters were on the scene dousing hot spots into the early-morning hours on Thursday.

AVIS — A massive ball of flames leveled a large barn at the Carson farm on Sulphur Run Road on Wednesday night, destroying an estimated $400,000 worth of equipment, according to Ken Leitch, deputy fire chief for the borough’s volunteer fire company.

Brothers Keith and Ben Carson operate the dairy farm at 2184 Sulphur Run Road in Pine Creek Township, about 2 miles north of Avis.

“Keith had just come into the house after milking the cows when he heard a bang, a boom. The next thing he knew, the barn was on fire,” Leitch said.

Carson and other family members scrambled to move 60 cows from a milking parlor, about 30 feet from the barn, when the fire erupted about 9:30 p.m. One calf perished in the blaze.

Flames could be seen from the borough as well as from Jersey Shore.

“I could see the fire from my house, so I called for second alarm right away,” Leitch said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation.

Volunteer firefighters from nearly a dozen communities responded to the blaze that burned out of control for about an hour.

“Within 15 minutes, the entire barn fell in,” Leitch said.

The biggest challenge in battling the blaze was getting enough water to the scene, he said.

Firefighters shuttled tankers from a hydrant on Henry Street in the borough as well as drew from Pine Creek, about 30 yards from the barn.

One Avis firefighter was treated at the scene for burns to his arm.

Among some of the farm equipment lost in the fire was a combine, two skid steers, a tractor, a sprayer and a spreader, Leitch said.

While firefighters were successful in preventing the intense flames from reaching the milking parlor, fire destroyed the roof to a “little shop” that contained tools and damaged doors to two silos.

Structural damage from the barn alone was estimated at an additional $100,000, Leitch said.

Besides Avis, firefighters from Jersey Shore, Antes Fort, Nippenose Valley, Woodward Township (Lycoming County), Dunnstown, Woolrich, Wayne Township, Castanea and Mill Hall responded to the blaze.