At approximately 4:00 PM, a fire occurred in a loading area at Nutrien’s Augusta facility 23 Columbia Nitrogen Drive in Augusta. The fire has since been extinguished. Site emergency response protocols were enacted immediately which include water sprinkler systems and the dispatching of emergency response teams. Local firefighters remain on-scene to assess the situation. One contractor experienced smoke inhalation and was transferred to local hospital as a precautionary measure. "The fire started on one of the conveyor belts that moves the ammonia nitrate throughout the facility," said Augusta Fire Department Public Information Officer Michael Meyers.