Fire destroys their businesses, not their spirit

By MAUREEN L. CAWLEY
Staff Writer
WILDWOOD – The holiday parade was scheduled to pass the Zuccarello’s house on Central Avenue last Friday evening, bringing with it Santa Claus and a special gift, an engagement ring to be presented by Sal Zuccarello to Lauren Belasco.
“Sal had a whole thing planned,” his father, Anthony said, but the devastating fire that burned at the Shore Plaza, at 26th Avenue and the Boardwalk, changed those plans.
Instead of participating in the parade, fire trucks - festooned with strings of red and green lights - surrounded the family’s businesses - Sam’s Pizza and the Shore Plaza Motel. And fire fighters battled most of the weekend to bring the blaze under control.
The parade was cancelled, and Santa didn’t come on Friday night, but amid the chaos and uncertainty, the Sal and his fiancé, buoyed by their family’s support, made a promise to look toward the future.
“I think it shows the resolve of the Zuccarello and Spera families,” said family friend John Lynch, who attended an impromptu gathering at the Zuccarello’s home on the night of the fire. People from the community stopped by throughout the evening to show support for the family, Lynch said, and to congratulate Sal and Lauren on their engagement.
Anthony Zuccarello said that his father-in-law and family patriarch, 77-year old Sam Spera, who purchased the family business at the Shore Plaza in 1979, had insisted that the couple move forward with their plans.
“Sam said we have to move on,” Zuccarello said. “I guess it gave us something good to focus on.”
“Out of a bad situation, there was something happy still,” Lynch said. “And you know what, it really says a lot about the family that with all they had to worry about, the only concern they had all night was with the safety of the firemen.”
The blaze burned for more than 24 hours, challenging at least 12 local fire companies to keep it under control, according to Wildwood mayor and fireman, Ernie Troiano.
“It was one of the toughest fires we had in a long time,” Troiano said. “It started in one little spot, and moved throughout the duct work quickly. It was a very stubborn fire.”
Lynch said that firemen that he spoke with told him the blaze was the toughest fire they had ever fought.
“And some of them had fought the fire at the Starlite Ballroom (in 1981),” he said.
Zuccarello said that initial investigations seemed to indicate that the fire started in the motor of a heater in a third floor motel unit on the west side of the building.
“We never expected it to spread the way it did,” he said.
But Troiano said that a combination of high winds and air moving through the duct work made it an unpredictable and seemingly endless fight.
In the end the building could not be saved.
“There were a couple incidents where the fire blew out. We were very lucky no one was seriously hurt.” Troiano said.
Throughout the two-day ordeal fire and rescue workers responded from Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, West Wildwood, Cape May, West Cape May, Stone Harbor, Rio Grande, Green Creek, Town Bank, Erma, Ocean City, Upper Township, Belleplain and Petersburg. Several firefighters were treated for minor injuries on the scene in an emergency tent set up by AlantiCare and at Burdette Tomlin Hospital.
Troiano said he was touched by what he called “an unbelievable outpouring of support” from businesses and local residents, who brought food and hot beverages to fire fighters throughout the weekend. And Marty Shapiro opened up his arcade, Gateway 26, to cold and wet workers so they would have a place to warm up from the frigid temperatures.
Zuccarello said that he and his family were grateful for the support of the community and for the hard work of the over two hundred fire and rescue workers who battled the blaze.
“Everybody wants to help,” Zuccarello said.
On Sunday, when the fire had finally burned out, many of the fire companies who fought the blaze participated in the island’s rescheduled Christmas parade. As they passed the Zuccarello’s house on Central Avenue, they were greeted by a huge sign, thanking them for their efforts.
“We are so grateful,” Zuccarello said.
The family plans to rebuild Sam’s Pizza as quickly as possible, though they are still working out the details. Zuccarello said that he and his brother-in-law Tony Spero are in ongoing discussions on how to go about the project.
“We talk about what we can do to make the pizza place better when we redo it,” he said, but rebuilding both the pizza parlor and the motel will likely take years.
They are looking into getting the pizza place up and running and taking a longer-term approach to the motel property, which is run by Zuccarello’s wife Rosemary and his sister and brother-in-law, Rita and Steve Szczur.
“Sam wants to be open tomorrow,” Zuccarello said.
Troiano said the city will do what ever it can to expedite the permitting and approval process.
“We want to help,” he said.
Lynch, who works as the marketing director of the Wildwood’s Convention Center, wonders what he will do when Sam’s Pizza is not there for his daily lunch stop.
“It’s my hang out,” he said.
For him, as for so many local residents and visitors, the restaurant is an institution they have relied on for decades.
“It was just as much of a landmark as the Starlite Ballroom,” Lynch said. “It will be tough on the community, but this community is great at bouncing back.”
Zuccarello knows the people are counting on his family to rebuild.
“It’s a tradition, you know, like Santa Claus comes at Christmas,” he said.
And Santa did stop by the Zuccarellos this Christmas season. At the end of the rescheduled Christmas parade on Sunday, Santa made a stop to congratulate Sal and his fiancé on their engagement. He presented them with Christmas gifts from Lynch, photo albums of the night of their engagement and wishes for many happy new years.