By CHRISTOPHER NIEBLING

Late in the evening of October 28, 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the coast of New Jersey with a ferocity the likes of which had never been seen before and, I hope, will never be seen again.Mantoloking, founded in 1911, is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, which separates the Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The borough is 2? square miles long, is approximately three feet above sea level, and has approximately 520 residences. Several members of the Mantoloking Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) are part of the borough's Office of Emergency Management (OEM), which is located on the island and is also staffed by administrators and police department members.

When we first heard that a storm could approach the Northeast coast, all eyes focused on its potential path. As the days continued, most models showed this storm hitting New Jersey. The MVFD called for its volunteers to respond; it started preparing for the storm by fueling up all vehicles, gathering equipment, and preparing the station for storm damage and flooding. The media reported that several storms were converging to form a "superstorm." In addition, a full moon and a high tide were expected as the storm was to make landfall. Our anxiety levels started to increase. The OEM was activated, and the MVFD and police met with OEM members to discuss plans for evacuating residents and personnel.

The delineation of duties and responsibilities of each OEM member must be outlined and understood well ahead of the onset of a storm or incident. Trying to determine who is responsible for what job or function within the OEM after an incident has occurred is not productive and will only cause confusion and drastically impede progress.Forty-eight hours before the storm, reverse 911 calls were made to all residents asking them to evacuate the island. OEM, MVFD, and police personnel also walked to each residence to advise those who were at home of the evacuation. As additional information on Sandy's intensity and the pending storm surge was received, OEM decided that all personnel would evacuate the island prior to the storm's landfall.