A Thursday night fire of undetermined origin damaged Tony's Restaurant on Speedway Lane near Interstate 81's Exit 23 in Mosheim.

A report filed by Deputy Sheriff Mark McLain said two witnesses who were inside the business shortly after 9 p.m. noticed smoke coming from vents and then discovered a fire inside a locked office at the rear of the restaurant.

The report listed the owner of the business as C. Marlene Thompson, of Briar Patch Lane, and estimated its value at $200,000.

All employees were able to escape the building without injury, according to Deputy McLain's report.

Scott Allen, chief of the Mosheim Volunteer Fire Department, said 30 firefighters and seven trucks from his department and the Midway Volunteer Fire Department responded to and quickly extinguished the fire. Not all the fire trucks were actually needed, the chief said.

Allen said he arrived at the restaurant within six minutes of being dispatched by Greene County 911 and found "flames just starting to come through" a side door.

He noted that firefighters were able to confine the fire to the office and were able to extinguish it using only about 500 gallons of water.

After the flames were extinguished, firefighters spent more than an hour ensuring that no hidden fire remained and in clearing away damaged ceiling tiles and other items inside the office.

The rest of the building sustained some smoke damage, Chief Allen said.

"They should be able to reopen as soon as they get the damage to the office repaired," Chief Allen said.

Unlike the normal situation for volunteer fire departments in western Greene County, the Mosheim and Midway VFDs had access to fire hydrants for the water needed to battle the Thursday night fire, Chief Allen said. Being able to obtain water from fire hydrants always makes fighting fires easier for volunteer firefighters, Chief Allen said.