An Oak Bluffs barn was destroyed in a large fire Wednesday night that brought an all-out response from fire fighters. Officials said there were no injuries, and it appeared all animals are safe.

Fire chief John Rose said the department was alerted to the barn fire on Elisha Lane off the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road at about 10:30 p.m.; the reporting party said flames were already through the roof.

“When we got there the structure was totally engulfed,” Chief Rose said. The barn, estimated at about 75 by 50 feet, later collapsed, he said.

Oak Bluffs fire and EMS, Edgartown fire and EMS, and Tisbury fire responded, the chief said, and seven fire trucks were on the scene. It took nearly four hours to completely extinguish the fire. “A lot of bales of hay that were tricky to get to,” he said.

He said it appeared no animals were injured; all the barn cats appeared to be safe. The back wall of a nearby chicken coop was on fire when the fire department arrived, he said, but that fire was extinguished and the chickens were not hurt. There was also minor damage to two nearby sheds.

Chief Rose said the property is owned by the Smith family, descendants of late Oak Bluffs farmer Elisha Smith. He said Mr. Smith’s son, Ralph Smith, cares for the property now.

The barn provided storage for farm equipment, including hay, shavings, and seed and grain, Chief Rose said. “Everything you need to maintain his farm was basically stored inside that barn,” he said.

He said the building is a total loss.

The chief said he was thankful there were no injuries, and the EMS department helped to rehabilitate the firemen as they fought the fire.

“The only trouble we had was a consistent problem almost on every fire — radio communications,” Chief Rose said. “It hampered the operation from the start.”