A Nashville, Illinois man was rescued early Sunday morning when Jefferson Rural firefighters removed him from a car that had caught fire as he was trying to get it out of a ditch.

Reports say Shaun Gage was attempting to get his car back on the road after it had left Richview Road a half mile west of the Shiloh Road just northwest of Mt. Vernon just before 4:30 Sunday morning. As he was attempting to get back onto the road, the engine compartment caught fire.

Gage was reportedly still in the passenger area of the vehicle and that the cabin had not yet caught fire.

Firefighters were able to put out the fire before it spread out of the engine compartment. No injuries were reported and Mt. Vernon firefighters provided mutual aid.