Fire Department

The cause of the fire that forced a popular downtown restaurant to be shut down abruptly Friday afternoon is under investigation.

At 3:49 p.m., the Madison Fire Department received multiple reports through the Dane County 911 Public Safety Communications Center of brown smoke coming from the area of The Old Fashioned (23 N. Pinckney). First-in crews arrived on scene within three minutes. They discovered fire in the restaurant's kitchen exhaust system, as well as slow-moving smoke in the attic area. Initial knockdown was achieved at 4:13 p.m., and final knockdown was declared at 4:41 p.m.

The building was occupied when the fire broke out, but all occupants safely evacuated and nobody was injured.

Although light smoke spread to some adjacent buildings, the YWCA, located next door, was unaffected. All YWCA occupants were able to return inside. Harvest Restaurant, also located next door to The Old Fashioned, is temporarily closed.

MGE shut down gas and utilities to the building as a safety precaution, and an inspector from Public Health Madison-Dane County is on scene. Fire investigators also remain on scene to try to determine the location of origin and cause of the fire.

Damage estimates are not yet available.