Firefighters battle a large barn fire near Muncy on Wednesday. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

MUNCY – A massive ball of fire engulfed a two-story 40×60- foot barn on Route 405, just outside the borough, in Clinton Township late Wednesday afternoon.

Township Fire Chief Todd Winder said someone was doing open burning on the property. The wind kicked up and suddenly the barn was on fire, he said.

There were no reports of injuries at the time of this writing. A dozen fire companies responded to the blaze at 5680 Route 405 about 5 p.m., including Pennsdale firefighters who could see a large black column of smoke as they pulled out of the station, about five to six miles away.

“Part of the building had started to collapse. The roof was caving in when I arrived,” Winder said.

Flames began spreading to surrounding brush and engulfed a farm tractor as well as two junk cars that were parked on the property.

The barn fire on Route 405 also consumed about quarter acre of brush as well as two cars and a farm tractor.PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

“A lot of stuff in the barn was exploding. There were propane tanks and tires in the barn,” Winder said. The name of the property owner was unknown Wednesday night.

Flames also vented from a large propane tank, estimated at 1,000 gallons. “We kept water on it, trying to cool it down, hoping a safety valve would close,” Winder said. The tank was inside the collapsed barn.

Firemen were expected to be on the scene for an extended period of time dousing smoldering hotspots.

Much of the barn had started to collapse as firefighters were arriving on the scene, along Route 405, just outside Muncy in Clinton Township. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

Firefighters laid close to 3,000 feet of hose in order to draft water from a branch of the Susquehanna River, just outside Muncy. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette