Malfunction Sparks Fire at AK Steel

( Middletown, Ohio ) - Firefighters from multiple departments were called to AK Steel on Saturday morning to deal with a large fire at the facility on Lefferson Road.

A statement released in the afternoon says that around 8am, a ladle that's used in the steelmaking process apparently malfunctioned and liquid steel was spilled into the facility. It took firefighters a couple of hours to get the blaze out. Just after 11am, the City of Middletown posted on twitter that the fire was no longer a threat:

An AK Steel spokeswoman says that none of its workers were hurt and all have been accounted for. The statement does not go into any detail on the extent of the damage.

The cleanup is underway, and AK Steel says it's looking in to the cause of the situation.