UPDATE @ 6:15 p.m.
Discarded smoking material is to blame for a fire outside Hickory Bar-B-Q that forced the restaurant to evacuate and close down for the rest of the day.
The fire was reported sometime after 5 p.m. on the side of the building, 1082 Brown St.
Restaurant cook Dustin Petry said a patron smelled smoke inside the restaurant, and that he was told to turn off the kitchen equipment and everyone had to evacuate.
“The fence was on fire and by the time the fire department got here the whole side of the building was engulfed,” Petry said.
The area that caught fire was within 14 to 15 feet of an outdoor smoking station, said District Chief James Rose of the Dayton Fire Department.
“Everything points to a discarded cigarette butt flipped on that wooden privacy fence, and it caught the fence on fire and communicated to the stucco,” Rose said.
No injuries were reported, but the restaurant will be closed the rest of the night and won’t reopen until it can have a safety inspection.
The restaurant was fortunate the fire didn’t happen overnight and was caught early.
FIRST REPORT
Fire crews are on scene of the Hickory Bar-B-Q restaurant on Brown Street in Dayton.
Fire was reported to be showing from the side of the building, 1082 Brown St.
Traffic on Brown Street is backed up and several fire trucks are on scene.