Fire ravages Ocean Township home, owner arrested

A Valentine's Day inferno in Monmouth's Ocean Township reduces a house to cinders, and the owner is accused of roughing up an investigating police officer.

Police said no one was injured in the Hartshorne Road blaze that was reported just before 8 PM Sunday night by Nicholas Kagabines, the sole occupant.

Firefighters from the Oakhurst, Wannamassa and Tinton Falls squads combined to knock down the flames. Inspectors determined the structure to be uninhabitable.

Arriving officers found heavy black smoke billowing from the house. Officer Kevin Redmond discovered flames from the lower-floor kitchen area in the back of the two-story home, police said. The cause remains under investigation.

Home owner Victor Malgeri arrived during the probe. Police said that Malgeri tried to enter the active fire scene, ignored officers' warnings to stay on the perimeter, became combative, and eventually pushed Officer Redmond.

Malgeri awaits a municipal court appearance on a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer.