PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW COLE Marshall County deputies responded to a report of a semi trailer on fire along Highway 330 northbound early Monday morning.

A semi truck carrying fertilizer caught fire along Highway 330 northbound in rural Marshall County on Monday morning.

According to Sheriff Joel Phillips, deputies were dispatched to Highway 330 near mile marker 17 for a report of a commercial vehicle on fire at around 4:45 a.m. When deputies arrived on scene, a tractor trailer combination that was traveling northbound was on fire near the rear tires of the trailer.

Within minutes, the entire trailer was on fire. The Melbourne, Rhodes, and State Center Fire Departments arrived on scene to extinguish the vehicle fire.

It was later determined that the fire appeared to have started due to a mechanical failure. The trailer contained several pallets of sodium sulfate, commonly known as fertilizer.

Phillips asked drivers to avoid traveling on Highway 330 northbound between Hart Avenue and Jessup Avenue Monday morning as recovery crews off-loaded and removed the trailer..