A brush fire that began Monday evening behind a Prospect Street home near downtown Basking Ridge burned the siding off the rear of the home and left char marks up to the second flood, but did not spread into the interior of the structure, Basking Ridge Fire Co. Chief Duncan Watt said.

"It was the best possible outcome from what we could see when we arrived on the scene," Watt said of the call, which came in at about 5:50 p.m.

The front of the home appeared undamaged after the blaze had been extinguished. But Watt said smoke had been coming out and could been seen from the street when firefighters arrived.

Watt said it is unknown what started the brush fire. But he said the brush was not far from a clean-out vent for the home's fireplace, a possible source of cinders.

No one was injured as a result of the fire, Watt said.

The Liberty Corner Fire Co., the Bernardsville Fire Co. and firefighters from the Veterans Administration facility in Lyons also responded to the call, Watt said.

Firefighters fought hard to knock down the fire which had engulfed the rear of the house from the outside, Jack McGrath, Basking Ridge Fire Co. public information officer, said in a release on Tuesday. "The fire was knocked down quickly and extensive overhaul was performed by all units to insure that the fire had not spread into the residence," he said in the release.

Firefighters were released from the scene in about an hour and the resident was able to stay in the house, McGrath said. As of Tuesday, the cause of the blaze still had not been determined, he said.