Gas leak on Main Avenue. 10:45 pm. 7/21/16. Paul Goldfinger photo © Click to enlarge.

Residents are evacuated. Paul Goldfinger photograph. © 7/21/16  Click to enlarge.

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger:

Ocean Grove. 10:45 pm on Thursday night, July 21, 2016.  A full moon lit up the downtown. It was a warm and humid night. The quiet was broken by the sound of sirens, as emergency units and personnell roared into town from Ocean Grove and Neptune Township.

A resident of the Wyndrift Apartments at 54 Main Avenue smelled gas and called 911.   Firemen arrived and evacuated the building.   The tenants sat in front of their building as the firemen milled about. Finally someone suggested that they cross the street. The gas company was on the scene, investigating.

Even though it was a warm night, the tenants clumped together on the sidewalk. They weren’t’ panicky or in any danger, but they seemed to feel safest together. There were adults, children, a baby and some dogs. They were all right, and that was the best news.

The problem was getting solved, some emergency vehicles drove away, and calm prevailed—a welcome feeling for a town that has known some awful fires in recent years.

I spoke to a few firemen. They were chatting softly among themselves. They saw my press pass and my camera, so they answered a few questions, but they were not feeling talkative. However  it made no difference; you could see that once again the town was protected by volunteers who are always ready to do their duty.

DON APIAZU and the Havana Casino Orchestra  “Amor Sincere”  (True Love)