CALLICOON - The call of a structure fire at the Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center went out at 6:08 p.m. on Friday and within minutes, firemen were rolling in from the Hortonville, Jeffersonville and Callicoon fire stations.

As firemen arrived, the window of Room 128 in the Ernesto wing had already exploded and flames were licking up the side of the three-story structure, which is connected to the main hotel via a hallway.

The Ernesto wing is located to the right of the main Villa Roma building, just feet from the main lobby. The room which caught fire is located on the side opposite the main entrance, facing the brook, tennis courts and ski hill. It is the first room on the left as you leave the main hallway and enter the Ernesto wing.

Firefighters quickly attacked the blaze, knocking it down as heavy black smoke rolled out of the window and down the hallways of the Ernesto wing.

Burn marks extended up the outside of the building to the second floor.

Security personnel from the Villa had evacuated the guests on the first two floors of the wing, which had many guests due to the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

The third floor penthouse was also evacuated as smoke continued to spread.

Nearly 75 firemen were on the scene, along with 12 pieces of fire apparatus as two portable water supplies were set up alongside the building to supply water to firemen inside. The water came from a nearby pond across the street.

“There was heavy smoke from the fire in the entire wing,” Deputy Fire Coordinator Tom Totten, who was at the scene, said. “The damage got less as you got farther from the fire.”

By 7:30 p.m. firemen had the fire contained and the Deputy Coordinator along with several Fire Investigators went into the building to insure that the fire had not spread any further and to try and determine the cause.

Villa Roma General Manager Paul Carlucci said, “We are so grateful to everyone who responded and the excellent job they did in containing the fire and keeping everyone safe.”

The exact cause of the fire is still unknown although a Villa Roma employee at the scene said it may have started in the heater/air conditioning unit and spread to the drapes.

No injuries were reported to guests or to firemen at the scene. Guests were transferred to other rooms in the hotel for the rest of their stay.

Lake Huntington, North Branch and Youngsville all responded on stand-by.