On Wednesday morning, firefighters from a dozen communities had to use the very same pond when a huge blaze engulfed the Reeders’ 80-by-100-foot barn at 186 Reeder Road.

Fast action by neighbors got all 12 cows out of the building when the fire was reported about 6:15 a.m.

One of those to call 911 to report the blaze was a neighbor who was on her way to work.

“As I made a turn along Reeder Road, I saw a lot of glowing,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be published.

“At first I thought someone was burning some papers, but when I came down the hill, I saw that it definitely was the barn,” she said.

The woman stopped, called 911 and alerted the residents who live next to the barn. “They were not even aware that the barn was on fire,” she said. The residents moved their vehicles out of the way so fire trucks would have easy access to the blaze.

“The fire was quickly spreading throughout the barn, and power lines to the structure were burning and dropping down,” the woman said.

“There definitely was a lot of heat coming from the building and a lot of crackling, a lot of noise,” the neighbor said.

Firefighters from Montoursville, Williamsport, Loyalsock Township, Pennsdale and Eldred Township responded on the initial alarm.

Among those responding was a Montoursville fire police lieutenant, who lives in the area.

He got on his fire radio and reported seeing “a noticeable orange glow in the sky” even though he was still a ways out from the scene, according to Montoursville Deputy Fire Chief Tyler Schramm. Hearing the lieutenant’s report, Schramm, who was still en route, called for a second-alarm, bringing additional fire resources from Muncy area, Picture Rocks, Plunketts Creek Township, South Williamsport and Hepburn Township.

Firefighters drafted water from the Reeder pond, which was frozen. “We had to use a chainsaw to break the ice,” Schramm said, adding that “the cold was absolutely brutal.”

The firefighters were “very thankful that a township employee got to the scene very quickly to put down cinders” that helped prevent falls from happening on the ice.

Additional firefighters from Old Lycoming Township and Hughesville were special- called to the fire.

Schramm said a section of the barn had already collapsed when firefighters first arrived on the scene, and that additional collapses occurred during the fire, which was brought under control about 7:15 a.m.

There were no reports of injuries.

A firefighter went to get an excavator that he brought to the scene. It was used to assist other firefighters “overhaul” the structure and reach hotspots, Schramm said.

There is nothing suspicious about the fire, but due to the total destruction of the barn, the cause of the fire will remain undetermined, he said

Reeder said the barn pre-dated 1952 when his parents, the late Clarence and Eleanor Reeder, purchased the farm. He responded from his home in Montoursville after he got a call from his sister, Lorraine Case, who lives near the barn.

“It was a ball of fire,” Reeder said in describing the situation when he arrived on the scene. Besides the cows, Reeder “mostly had hay,” in the barn.

“A lot of memories here,” he said as he looked out at what was now just a pile of burned rubble.

When asked if he planned to rebuild, Reeder said ‘”We’ll get this all cleaned up to begin with, and then see where it goes from there.”

Two local businesses — Mel’s Diner and Dunkin Donuts — provided refreshments for the firefighters.