A fire at the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina prompted officials to declare a Site Area Emergency on Wednesday evening, October 28, with local media reporting a radiological release and restrictions on nearby air traffic.

The emergency was declared at 5:39 p.m. local time at the federal nuclear facility near Aiken, South Carolina, according to updates posted on the site’s official X account.

Officials confirmed that the fire broke out at Savannah River National Laboratory, which operates within the nuclear complex. The blaze has since been extinguished.

Local broadcaster WRDW/WAGT reported that an emergency dispatch described an “unfiltered ground-level radiological release” associated with the incident.

However, Savannah River Site officials said no contamination had been reported outside the affected facility, and there was no indication of consequences beyond the site’s boundaries.

According to WRDW/WAGT, the fire was confined to a single room at the laboratory. Sources told the broadcaster that the incident began shortly after 5 p.m.

The cause of the fire and whether anyone was injured have not been disclosed.

Savannah River Site officials said the incident triggered emergency response activities at the Department of Energy facility. “An event is in progress that has triggered emergency response activities at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site,” officials said in an initial notification.

According to local media reports, employees in Area A, where the laboratory is located, were instructed to shelter in place for approximately 30 minutes.

A fire was reported at the Savannah River National Laboratory but has since been extinguished.

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