Worker seriously burned in liquid metal explosion in Marengo

An employee at Marengo's Arnold Engineering suffered life-threatening burns from molten metal Tuesday afternoon, a fire department spokesperson said.

The man was taken by ambulance to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford.

The employee suffered his injuries after a "liquid metal explosion occurred inside a machine." The news release did not say what was happening at the time of the explosion.

The Marengo Fire and Rescue Districts were called to the building at 300 N. West St. just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, officials said.

Light smoke was showing from the building's exterior when firefighters arrived. Employees had already evacuated. A small fire, contained to the immediate area of the machine, was put out within about 10 minutes. No structural damage was reported, and damage estimates were not available from fire officials.

According to the company website, the building houses a division of Arnold Magnetic Technologies producing thin and ultrathin alloys. A person answering the general phone number said the company had no comment about the incident.