A view of the blaze from the backyard of a neighboring property. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Fire tore through the second floor of a Red Bank two-family home early Monday afternoon, displacing its occupants two days after Christmas.

Volunteer firefighters on the roof and front porch, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

No injuries were immediately reported in connection with the blaze at 307 Shrewsbury Avenue, at the corner of St. Mary’s Place.

An official account of the fire, called in at 1:30 p.m., and its possible cause was not immediately available. Also unknown was the number of tenants displaced.

A contractor working next door, who declined to give his name, told redbankgreen he heard a beeping smoke alarm from the house, which he’d heard several times in the past.

When it persisted, he stepped outside to see flames through a second-floor window toward the rear of the house, and called it in to 911.

Only one occupant was believed to have been home at the time, and he got out safely, the witness said.

The house is owned by a limited liability company controlled by Hani and Melanie Salama of Hazlet, according to New Jersey business records.

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