Thursday afternoon firefighters responded to a report of visible flames at a restaurant in downtown Washington. Shortly after 3 p.m., flames were seen at Xtreme Smokehouse, near the intersection of North Iowa and 3rd Street. Terry Philips was working in the neighboring Mills Seed Building when he smelled the smoke and went outside to investigate, upon seeing the flames he called 911.
The business was empty at the time of the fire behind the business. The block of North Iowa was closed to traffic while crews extinguished the fire in under an hour. Washington Fire Department, Washington County Ambulance and Washington Police Department responded to the scene.