By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Customers at Alabaster’s Olive Garden restaurant were evacuated as a precaution by the Alabaster Fire Department shortly after 8 p.m. on Sept. 10 after a smoky odor prompted a call to the department.

Alabaster Fire Chief Jim Golden said the department received a call from the restaurant at about 8 p.m. reporting a possible fire at the structure in the city’s South Promenade shopping center. Golden said the call came after a smoky odor filled the inside of the restaurant, and said several of the department’s engine companies responded.

After a thorough inspection of the restaurant, firefighters determined there was no fire or danger to customers or employees, Golden said. After the restaurant received the all-clear, employees and customers were allowed back inside.

“Luckily, it turned out to basically be a false alarm,” Golden said. “We evacuated everyone just as a precaution.”