UPDATE (Friday, January 29, 2020; 12:55 pm): This story has been updated to include comments from Hook & Ladder FIre Chief Chris Ward.

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The second major structure fire in town within a week swept through a Hanover Road residence in the area of Silver City Road Friday morning, January 29, drawing volunteers from all five local fire companies, as well as mutual aid from several neighboring towns, including Brookfield and Southbury.

Single digit temperatures and a light snow condition did nothing to hamper the efforts as firefighters, police officers, a Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps team, and a paramedic all converged on the fire after being dispatched around 7:20 am. Hook & Ladder Fire Chief Chris Ward was the officer in command at the fire scene, which remained active for nearly three hours.

Mid-Friday morning, Fire Marshal Richard Frampton told The Newtown Bee that the fire had started around the fireplace, "in the wall behind it.

"The homeowner tried to put the fire out but was unsuccessful," Frampton noted. Two men and one woman were in the house, according to the fire marshal.

Portions of the house may be saved, he said, but the dwelling was "not habitable" in the immediate aftermath of the fire.

Deputy Fire Marshal Steve Murphy was also at the scene Friday morning.

Reporting from the scene, Newtown Bee Associate Editor Shannon Hicks said three residents and at least four dogs were evacuated and appeared to all be safe.

Additional dogs and cats were also located, according to Chief Ward, who said police officers "worked on keeping the occupants out." At least one of the adults in the house did not want to initially leave, he said.

"There were dog cages everywhere," Ward added, noting that all but one puppy was able to get out of the house on their own. The puppy was rescued by Hook & Ladder First Lieutenant David White, according to the fire chief.

Multiple tankers shuttled water to the scene from water supplies that were quickly set up on nearby Bramble Trail and Pond Brook Road. Tankers dumped into a portable pond set up on Hanover to the immediate south of the driveway.

Ward estimated that 40 firefighters were at the property Friday morning. In addition to bitter cold temperatures and a light snow, he said firefighters were additionally challenged during their work by the construction of the house.

"It was built with additions on top of additions," he said. "In one spot there was a room on top of an old roof.

"We basically had to dismantle the house down to the joists," he said. He called the job "very intensive, labor wise."

Stepney first sent a crew to Botsford to provide station coverage. That crew was then sent to Hook & Ladder, and a second crew from Monroe went to Botsford's station. Dodgingtown also provided coverage at Hook & Ladder's firehouse.

An Eversource employee also responded to the scene, disconnecting power to the house. Clean-up response service JP Maguire had also been called to the scene by 8:30 am Friday.

Small stubborn fires were spotted occasionally as firefighters continued to battle from inside and outside the building. Heavy gray smoke continued to pour from the building for over an hour, much of it rolling across the property.

Ward said the morning's very cold temperatures contributed to the low-laying smoke.

"Being so cold, it just kind of hung there," he said.

Fire command reporting from the scene via dispatch said at the one hour mark that all responders were safe and accounted for as they continued battling the fire. The fire was declared under control at 8:40 am and fire command was beginning to release responding tankers at that time.

The Assessor’s Office online database lists the 3.19-acre property under the ownership of Caroline Jessup. The 3,035-square-foot contemporary dwelling was constructed in 1940. It is set back approximately 200 feet from the road, on the western side of Hanover.

A 60-pound propane tank began releasing gas while firefighters were at the scene. The company that owns the tank was contacted to cap the tank.

Hanover Road was closed between its intersections with Silver City Road, a dead end road just south of the property, and Pond Brook Road. While drivers were able to use Pond Brook to navigate from the northern end of the fire scene, a detour was also set up at the intersection of Hanover and Butterfield for those on that side of the property.

The ambulance crew was able to leave by 9:30 am, and final overhaul and cleanup efforts were underway. Ward cleared Hook & Ladder, the final company at the scene, at 10:10 am.

One week earlier, all of the town’s firefighters, and a number of mutual aid companies, responded to a structure fire on Aspen Lane. That midday fire also destroyed a residence, displacing a family of seven.