A Red Bank family safely escaped a fire that damaged their home Monday evening. 
Firefighters opened a corner of the attic to access the fire. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Volunteer firefighters responding to the 5:57 p.m. alarm quickly knocked down a blaze that appeared to have traveled from the basement to the attic between studs in the balloon-wall structure.
Firefighters remained on scene at 7 p.m., and an official account of the fire was not immediately available. It appeared, however, to be related to pipe-soldering work underway in the basement earlier in the afternoon.
The house belongs to Jeff and Tracey Merton, who with their two children were expected to be displaced for at least the night as a result of smoke and water damage.
