The club house of a former public golf course in West Penn Township was destroyed by a fast moving fire Thursday morning.

The blaze was reported after 10 a.m. at Villas Crossing Golf Course, 521 Golf Road, Tamaqua, according to West Penn Township fire Chief Jeff Bradford.

Upon arrival, Bradford said firefighters encountered a fully involved working fire in the old club house.

“It was a tough fire just because of the way the old structure was built; there was a lot of hidden areas in the building to get to the fire,” Bradford said. “It wasn’t just a standard frame building, (so) it took a little longer.”

Bradford said no one was inside at the time the fire broke out.

However, he said a firefighter from a neighboring fire department was injured.

A Lehighton paramedic unit was later called to the scene for a firefighter suffering chest pains.

Bradford said the cause of the fire is unknown.

He said a state fire marshal was on scene, and the matter remains under investigation.

Bradford said firefighters remained on scene for about five hours, adding that fire departments from Schuylkill, Carbon and Lehigh counties were on scene.

He said also assisting were the New Ringgold Fire Company, New England Fire Company, Tamaqua Fire Department, Hometown Fire Department, East Penn Township Fire Department, Mahoning Valley Fire Department, Franklin Township Fire Department, and New Tripoli Fire Department.