Fire that engulfed Lehigh County trucking companies under investigation [PHOTOS, VIDEO]

A fire destroyed a building and prompted a response from firefighters in four counties early Monday morning in Lehigh County.

North Whitehall Township Fire Marshal Donald Jacobs said firefighters were called about 1:15 a.m. for a report of a fire in the 4800 block of Kernsville Road. When firefighters arrived minutes later, the building, which houses two trucking companies, was well-involved with flames.

“It was through the roof already,” Jacobs said of the fire.

At least 30 fire companies from Lehigh, Northampton, Berks and Carbon counties assisted in fighting the fire. There was some initial concern that someone may have been in the building, but emergency responders were able to confirm later that no one was there at the time.

Had someone been in there, firefighters would not have been able to get to them. Jacobs said the fire was too intense to have anyone go inside the building.

“We only could operate from the outside,” the fire marshal said.

Jacobs estimated it was about 6 a.m. when crews were able to get the fire under control. They stayed on the scene for hours doing overhaul. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Jacobs said because of the magnitude of the fire, a state police fire marshal is investigating the cause.

Jacobs noted Monday’s fire was one of the larger fire responses in recent history. He commended all of the emergency services and their respective county 911 services that helped coordinate the response. He mentioned that the procedures have been in place, but are rarely used.

“This was a really good example of Lehigh Valley emergency services really getting it done well,” he said. “I don’t know how this could get any better.”

Kernsville Road  between Route 309 and Shankweiler Road was closed for several hours while officials investigated the scene. It reopened about 2:45 p.m.