BOWERS — The U.S. Coast Guard has created a 500-yard (457-meter) safety zone in the Delaware Bay around a fire on a barge and the boats responding to the blaze, officials said Monday.

The Coast Guard received a call around 1 a.m. reporting the blaze about 9 miles (14 kilometers) south of Port Mahon, officials said in a news release. About six fire boats from local fire agencies were actively fighting the fire on the barge that was reportedly carrying household appliances for scrap, officials said. The Coast Guard launched a boat crew to monitor and help.

The Coast Guard said it is working with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Bowers Fire Company on the response to the fire. There are no injuries, no evidence of pollution impacting the waterway and the cause of the fire is not known, the Coast Guard said.

DNREC said in a statement its Emergency Response Team joined federal and local partners monitoring the Delaware Bay by air and patrol boat for environmental impacts caused by the fire, which discharged a plume of smoke. While smoke is as visible from the beach Monday, air quality monitoring stations in the region are currently showing low readings of Particulate Matter (PM2.5). Data is available to the public at Airnow.gov or Purpleair.com.

The USCG and DNREC crews are also looking for debris from the barge and its cargo, and wildlife that might be struggling from the effects of the fire. As of Monday afternoon, they had observed no debris in the water from the vessel and there have been no reports of impacted wildlife.

“We’re working closely with the Coast Guard, Bowers Fire Company and other response agencies to assess any possible environmental impacts to the bay,” said DNREC Emergency Response Chief Jamie Bethard. “While there have not been any significant areas of impact observed during the search, we’ll continue to monitor the situation.”

Bowers Fire Company is leading the incident command. The USCG and DNREC crews will continue to monitor the situation, DNREC said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.