UPDATE: One Injured in Fire at Rosemount Recycling Plant

One person was injured early Tuesday morning when a payloader caught fire at a Rosemount recycling company.

According to the Rosemount Fire Chief Scott Aker, the incident took place at about 1:00 am when an employee was loading aluminum pieces into a smelter at Spectro Alloys Corp. at 13220 Doyle Path E.., in Rosemount.

"We originally received a call reporting an explosion," said Aker. "But it appears that a piece of snow or ice might have dropped into the furnace containing molten aluminum. The effect is similar to what happens when you're cooking bacon and you accidentally drop in a few drops of water."

Akers said the resulting overflow of material set the wheels of the front-end payloader on fire. "The building is primarily constructed on concrete and steel, so there weren't a lot of flammable materials. But it took about 30 minutes to extinguish the fire and pull the payloader away from the scene."

The driver of the payloader was injured by flying material and was rushed to a local hospital by another employee.

Rosemount Fire Marshal John Kendall is formally investigating the cause of the fire.