NOVEMBER 20, 2025
BERLIN • NORTH WORCESTER COUNTY• OCEAN PINES
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Town auctions parade parking Berlin raises over $900 for community center dream project By Tara Fischer Staff Writer (Nov. 20, 2025) The Town of Berlin raised almost a thousand dollars by auctioning off prime parking spots for the municipality’s yearly Christmas Parade. The money will be put toward the town’s mission to create a Berlin Community Center. In an effort to offer a few Berlin residents and visitors a first-rate parking location for the annual, and ultra-
crowded, Christmas Parade, planned for Dec. 4 this year, the municipality recently auctioned off 11 parking spots facing Main Street in the triangle War Memorial parking lot, across from Stevenson Methodist Church. Sara Gorfinkel, Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall’s executive administrative assistant, said that the spaces are “just steps from the Christmas Parade Stage.” The idea to hold such an auction was inspired by feedback, indicating that Berlin citizens and guests may be interested in offering See PRIME Page 8
Bayside Jet Drive destroyed in fire Multiple companies answered call, cause still undetermined
BERLIN’S TREE ARRIVED
PHOTO COURTESY OF LISA ULM
The Town of Berlin marked the arrival of its annual Christmas tree on Monday in front of the Atlantic Hotel.
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By Brian Shane Staff Writer (Nov. 21, 2025) Firefighters from nearly two dozen fire companies responded last week to an inferno that incinerated a Berlin-area boat dealership owned by Worcester County Commissioner Eric Fiori. No one was hurt. Fiori said the Nov. 13
conflagration consumed the commercial building that housed a showroom and offices for his business, Bayside Jet Drive. About 15 boats, a storage room for parts and accessories, not to mention countless business documents all were destroyed. County fire officials and Fiori both said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. This week, Fiori expressed profound gratitude, See FIRE Page 3
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Bayside Gazette
November 20, 2025
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November 20, 2025
Bayside Gazette
PHOTO COURTESY OF OPVFD
The scene last Thursday afternoon is pictured on Worcester Highway as multiple local fire companies worked to extinguish the fire at Bayside Jet Drive.
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OCEAN CITY’S HOM ME FOR STEAKS, SEAFO OOD & COCKTAILS! A
Fire ruins Bayside Jet Drive, cause is under investigation Continued from Page 1 not only to the community for standing with him in the face of devastating loss, but to the firefighters from three counties who showed up to help. “If it wasn’t for our first responders from all those jurisdictions, this catastrophic fire would have been way, way worse,” he told OC TodayDispatch. “The way they risked their lives to jump into that fire, there’s no words. As I’m watching the last 20plus years of my life burn, none of that matters. I just wanted them to get home to their families and not spread to their neighbors, so they don’t have the same heartache I did.” It was 1:21 p.m. on Nov. 13 when the Berlin Fire Company fielded the call that Bayside Jet Drive on Worcester Highway was on fire. Units arriving to the scene found flames already shooting through the roof and walls, according to Rob Korb, Chief Deputy Fire Marshal for Worcester County. At the same time, a firefighter friend reached out by phone to tell Fiori: you need to get to your business – now. Twenty-three fire departments from Worcester and Wicomico counties, as well as Sussex County in Delaware, responded to the incident, bringing 64 pieces of apparatus, according to Korb. They spent eight hours at the scene, some working into the night, to contain and investigate the fire. Many other fire companies didn’t physically make it to the scene but were involved in covering other stations that did go, Korb added. Drop tanks were in place so tanker trucks could unload their water supply and make runs to keep the reservoir replenished for engines. Tankers filled up by tying into hydrants at a nearby Royal Farms and SonRise Church. More than 200,000 gallons of water, mostly tapped from municipal Berlin hydrants, were spent to
extinguish the inferno, Korb said. Volunteers’ photos and videos posted to social media chronicled the hours-long firefight. As early crews arrived on the scene, a wall of sheer orange flame 20 feet tall could be seen overtaking the front of the blue commercial structure. By dusk, firefighters stood watching as a hydraulic excavator began to demolish that same storefront, ripping away the charred sheet metal exterior in jagged chunks. Roxana’s Fire Company said on Facebook how crews enroute watched from miles away as a column of smoke rose from the scene and, when they showed up, boats were seen engulfed in flame. The sheer intensity of the blaze made it hard to reach the seat of the fire, they also said. Fiori, 48, says he’s facing the situation head-on and has vowed to rebuild. “It’s just very difficult and I want to clean it up and start over and move on,” he said. After years of working in the marina and watercraft industry in Ocean City, Fiori in 2002 founded his own Jet Ski rental and repair service in midtown Ocean City. That business grew into what became Bayside Jet Drive, a full-fledged boat dealership and maintenance operation. A decade later, he opened 13,000 square feet of showroom outside Berlin, and then expanded again for more storage in 2016, according to the business’ website. While Bayside Jet Drive employs about 20 people at the Berlin location, Fiori has another showroom and sales operation in Ocean View, Delaware. On Friday, the morning after the fire, Fiori posted a heartfelt message on Facebook, showing appreciation to all who responded, well wishers and the Ladies Auxiliary members who showed up on site to feed the See ELECTED Page 8
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