BOSTON -- A historic seafood company on Boston's waterfront was destroyed Friday when an early morning fire tore through the building.

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The fire at the James Hook Lobster Co. broke out at about 2:30 a.m. Friday at 400 Atlantic Ave. in Boston and quickly grew to seven alarms. Nobody was inside the building at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.

"It has been hard to stay here all these years with the Big Dig and all the stuff we went through and people respected us for that and appreciated that and always thanked us. They thanked us for being here and thanked us for staying here. We love this place and, you know, I don't know what to say," owner Ed Hook said.

The family owned and operated business has been a fixture on the Boston waterfront for 80 years. It was a landmark that reminded passersby of a time before high-rise office buildings and high-end hotels when Atlantic Avenue was a working waterfront. The company has 15 to 20 employees.

By 5 a.m., part of the building had collapsed. None of the 140 firefighters at the scene were inside the building at the time. Divers were in the harbor checking the integrity of the pilings to make sure the pier was safe.

"This building was built in the 1920s and the old wooden piers are dried out and oil-soaked, and fire spreads very rapidly in this type of structure," said Boston Fire Chief Kevin MacCurtain.

Fire officials said the building is a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Hook said there was about 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of lobster worth $5 to $10 a pound inside the building at the time of the fire. Total losses are estimated to be about $5 million.

Many roads in the immediate area were closed and motorists were advised to seek alternate routes. Atlantic Avenue was closed from South Station to the Boston Harbor Hotel, and the Interstate 93 exit to Purchase Street was closed.

James Hook Lobster Co., a family run business since 1925, began when the family started trucking their daily lobster catch from Maine and Canada to Boston's fish piers where they were sold directly to the area's finest restaurants, according to the company's Web site. Currently, the company ships about 50,000 pounds of lobsters a day, according to its Web site.