A Mt Pleasant home received heavy damage Sunday afternoon after a chimney fire spread into surrounding areas and sent two workmen outdoors.

Deputy Fire Marshal Dave Ober said the vacant house at 40 Mt Pleasant Road was having some work done on February 20.

“It was being cleaned out, possibly for resale,” he said. “The two workers who were there lit a fire in the fireplace, to provide heat, because the furnace was shut off. We believe they had a chimney fire that transferred out of the flue.”

Ober said the resulting fire damaged the second floor and roof of the two-story Cape style dwelling with 1,373 feet of living space. It was constructed in 1947, according to the online assessor’s database.

The owner is listed as Helen Chimel.

The house is located on the northern side of Mt Pleasant Road, between the intersections of Diamond Drive to the west and The Old Road to the east.

The deputy fire marshal said the men were unaware of the fire “until someone banged on the door and made sure they were getting out.”

Firefighters from all five of Newtown’s companies were dispatched around 2:20 Sunday afternoon. Mutual aid also came from Brookfield, Southbury, and Stony Hill.

Hook & Ladder Chief Chris Ward was the officer in command at the scene.

“We were fortunate,” he said February 22, “in that we were in a hydrant district, so that worked in our favor.”

Having hydrants in proximity allowed firefighters to hook up directly and began putting water on the fire very quickly. Tankers were not needed for Sunday’s call.

“We got there in a timely fashion, poured water on the fire, and the laws of physics apply still,” he said.

Ward estimates approximately 40 firefighters were at the scene. He said there was some water and smoke damage to the first floor, in addition to the “extensive” damage to the second floor.

Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps and a paramedic were also dispatched, per structure fire protocol.

“Fortunately, we didn’t need them,” Ward said.

Eversource was also called to the scene. CT DOT was also contacted with a request for a sand truck due to the afternoon’s low temperatures.

Mt Pleasant was closed to through traffic while first responders were working.

Firefighters were fully cleared from the scene by 4 pm.

The house was not destroyed, just damaged.

“It’s reparable,” Ober said this week.

Ward agreed.

“The first floor is fine. The second floor is going to need a roof,” he said.