Jersey Shore Magazine

j e r s e y s h o r e • F A L L / H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 5 43 pages. What changed the Jersey Shore the most was Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Both took a very active role in getting the latest information out to their followers, starting days before the storm hit. Meaney was on scene near North Street and East Avenue in Bay Head as Sandy approached on Monday, October 29, 2012, when the ocean began to wash over the dunes. "The ocean water just went over the dunes into the street, and the dunes began to wash away quickly. I knew it was going to be bad," he said. He posted photographs to the BBI page, and one of the photos was of an ABC-7 news camera crew next to a home that ended up completely disappearing as a result of the storm. "I probably got the last photo of that house," he said. When the surge became a bit stron- ger, Meaney knew he needed to leave the area, and he hunkered down in the Point Pleasant Beach First Aid building with his fellow volunteers. As people were losing phone service and power during the storm, Auciello kept a close eye on posts to the JSHN page. Sandy came closer, the water rose, and all of a sudden, Auciello noticed a change in the types of posts being made. He explained, "Hundreds of people needed help, from south- ern Ocean County to northern Monmouth County. These people were without phone service or could not connect on their cell phones to 911. They commented on JSHN that help was desperately needed. I quickly wrote a post that said, 'Respond here if you need help with location and phone number.' Emergency respond- ers began monitoring the posts, and people were able to be rescued as a result. JSHN turned from a facilitator of information to a lifeline for help. And looking back, the most reward- ing thing, as this storm destroyed my community, was that JSHN was able to provide help to so many of its neighbors." During the days after Sandy, both the BBI and JSHN pages were a life- line to so many, because even with- out power, people were able to charge their phones, computers, and tablets from car batteries or generators and then have access to Facebook on their devices. The non-stop posting of information and photographs further connected every follower from near and far: posts such as various per- sonal and sentimental items washing up on the beaches, the reuniting of these items with their owners, collec- tion drives, places to go for supplies or clothes, organizations who could help, the location of electric crews and warming centers, volunteers needed or available for cleanout of flooded homes…the list goes on and on. With intrinsic selflessness, both Auciello and Meaney put the entire Jersey Shore community first by tak- ing an active role in getting the most up-to-date information out there. Memories Lost: The Seaside Fire Fast forward eleven months later to another local tragedy: the Seaside boardwalk fire on September 12, 2013. Auciello was sitting on his couch in south Seaside Park when the first alarm went off, at approximately 2:15 PM. "I turned on my scanner, and it came across as a smoke con- dition on the boardwalk. I didn't think it was anything serious, but then the alarm went off again, and again. Within minutes, it changed into a call for a structure fire at Kohr's [Frozen Custard]," he said. With a sick feeling in his stomach, he grabbed his cell phone, threw on his flip-flops, drove ten blocks north, and was reporting from the scene within minutes. "When I arrived, only one fire truck was on scene, and Kohr's was in flames. I could not believe what I was seeing," he said. The second image he took (and post- ed at 2:40 PM—less than thirty min- utes from the first alarm), turned out to be one of the most iconic images from the fire: a firefighter running in front of a fully-engulfed Kohr's. Auciello reported straight from the scene of the fire for at least sixty minutes before other news outlets began covering the story. However, this disaster was personal for Auciello. He elaborated, "This is where I grew up. The boardwalk. It's everything. You go up there as a kid for ice cream or to ride the rides, then as you grow into a teenager, you shift focus to the arcades and to just hanging out. Then when you turn twenty-one, there's the bar scene. Every stage of life led to a new expe- rience on the boardwalk. It was 'my' boardwalk. And I watched childhood, After Sandy, the non-stop posting of information and photographs further connected every follower from near and far. Some posts reunited various personal and sentimental items that washed up on the beaches with their owners. Upon seeing this framed photograph on the Barnegat Bay Island site, its owner "Aimee" wrote: "That's me and my dad!!!! A friend just saw this and called. Thank you so so much!! I'm so happy you found this, thank you!! I have such mixed emotions...so happy it was found but sad that it was washed away in the first place along with so many other personal items from every- one affected. Reaching out like this means so much. Thank you." courtesy of the Barnegat Bay Island Facebook page continued on page 44

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