A fire broke out at a nuclear power plant in the U.S. state of Arkansas on Monday, but did not cause any injuries or pose a threat to public safety, local media reported.

The fire erupted Monday morning at the Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO) power plant, located near Russellville in west Arkansas, and is believed to have been caused by a malfunctioning auxiliary transformer at the plant's Unit Two, website Arkansasonline.com reported.

The auxiliary transformer is an electrical device that transfers energy and is not in a nuclear portion of the plant, said Mike Bowling, spokesman for Entergy -- the company that owns and operates ANO.

Bowling said no evacuation took place at the facility and no injuries were reported. The fire was contained shortly after firefighters arrived.

Entergy confirmed there was no threat to public safety. However, the incident forced utility officials to take Unit Two offline, though Unit One is online and continuing to generate power, according to the report.

Plant spokeswoman Donna Gregory told the media the cause of the fire wasn't immediately apparent, and it's unknown when the idled unit could be restarted.

Arkansas Nuclear One, a two-unit pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant, is located near Lake Dardanelle just outside Russellville. The plant generates 1,823 megawatts of power, equivalent to about 30 percent of the total energy demand of Arkansas, and is the only nuclear power plant in the state. 

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