I wonder if Wayne Cimorelli is eligible for an Emmy Award.
Doubtful, but why not? Here goes: I hereby nominate WNBC-Ch. 4 reporter Wayne Cimorelli for a local Emmy in the category of live, on-the-spot news reporting from an active crisis scene.
Other than the fact that I don’t have that authority and Cimorelli doesn’t work for Ch. 4, there shouldn’t be a problem.
Two Thursday evenings ago, as Seaside Heights, NJ’s boardwalk and its businesses burned, Cimorelli, 60, was hooked up by phone with Ch. 4 anchor Chuck Scarborough.
And for the next 10 minutes, Cimorelli, who owns three boardwalk establishments — all in growing peril — provided a compelling account of what happened, what was happening and what might soon happen.
And Cimorelli did so in a concerned but detached voice, flatly speaking the who, what, where, when and why of a fire that had summoned, on the quick, six fire departments — one, he said, from Ship Bottom, NJ, 34 miles away.
Nothing needed to be asked; Cimorelli instinctively, and without any OMG! enhancements, reported the news.
And for those 10 minutes Cimorelli spoke to WNBC — and its audience — he did so with his shoulder pressing his cellphone to his ear. He needed his arms to operate the fire extinguishers he’d carried to the roof, explaining that many boardwalk business roofs are covered by rubber. Wind-blown embers stick to the roofs, then quickly enflame.
Cimorelli spoke to WNBC and to us while extinguishing these smaller fires, here, there and everywhere.
And then Cimorelli had to go. His daughter was calling.
And then he called a fellow boardwalk businessman who lives in Lakewood, and told him to get there right away, head for the roof — and bring fire extinguishers.
And then Ch. 4, apparently and wisely realizing that in Cimorelli they had reporting gold — better than what it could present, at that point — put Cimorelli back on the air.
It was then that Cimorelli provided his first and only evidence of self-concern, while maintaining a good reporter’s sense of what might be coming, next. And it was gripping.
A lifelong Jersey Shore guy — his first boardwalk gig was in 1967 — he told Ch. 4 that he’d just run into a fireman he knows. The firefighter asked if he still owns the building that holds his businesses. After telling him that he does, Cimorelli said, “I didn’t like the look on his face.” Wow.
Three days later, we found Cimorelli, who was at work. His businesses were up and open.
“We were spared,” he said, “made it by about three blocks. But in a fire like that, the embers can blow anywhere, skipping a block. We were lucky. Not everyone was.”
“Lucky,” by Cimorelli’s recent standards. In October, Hurricane Sandy left him $3 million worth of damage, for which, Cimorelli said, he could only retrieve $700,000 in insurance. He rebuilt.
“I employ a lot of people, and we did the best we could to keep everyone on.
“But jeez, given what this fire was, and what it became with the wind — smoke and fires everywhere; on roofs, the condominium across the street, the boardwalk — it could’ve been a lot worse. The police, fire departments — and they came from everywhere — everyone did a great job.”
One of Cimorelli’s Seaside Heights establishments is a terrific Mexican restaurant, Spicy Cantina.
Maybe the next time we’re down that way we’ll stop in, order the two-alarm enchiladas and a pitcher of something cold and wet to serve as our own fire extinguisher.
And then we’ll present Cimorelli with our local Emmy for simultaneous service — a thank-you for distinguished civilian fire extinguishing and a thank-you for a civilian TV reporting job very well done.