NATCHEZ — What could have been a potentially damaging fire at the Isle of Capri hotel was responded to swiftly and efficiently.

General Manager and Vice President of Isle of Capri Tony Scudiero said he got a call Tuesday afternoon letting him know that there was a fire at the hotel.

Scudiero said by the time he reached the hotel from his office on Silver Street, the Natchez Fire Department had already put out the fire — a burning bag of towels.

“There was more smoke than anything,” Scudiero said.

Battalion Chief Mike Eidt said the towels, which are kitchen towels used for cleaning appliances, appeared to have spontaneously combusted.

“It wasn’t anything done on purpose,” he said.

He said the towels were greasy and were in a plastic bag.

Eidt said when the three fire trucks pulled up to the scene, there was “moderate smoke coming from the kitchen area.”

Scudiero said one of his employees assisted in putting out the fire with an extinguisher.

“It happened so quick and everyone was quick to react it went very smooth,” he said.

He said he is very grateful it didn’t turn into a large-scale fire.

“These kinds of things you never want to get out of hand,” he said. “The main thing is that no one got hurt.”

He’s also grateful for the speedy response of the fire department.

“They did a tremendous job of getting here and getting here quick,” he said.

He said customers didn’t even notice there was a fire.