New Jersey, New York and surrounding states are still dealing with the devastation that Hurricane Sandy unleashed on region last year.

Wrecked homes, livelihoods derailed, and in some tragic cases, lost lives… The super storm took its toll on people, businesses and vital infrastructure. Yet despite the chaos, one company not only managed to keep the lights on, but also keep its customers websites online.

PEER 1 Hosting, a managed hosting and cloud services provider with a data center in New York City’s financial district, recently screened a mini documentary called “The Bucket Brigade.” The film, viewable below, chronicles the efforts of Mike Mazzei, PEER 1 Hosting’s NYC data center manager, his crew and even some clients to sustain the servers that power countless websites.

Unbeknownst to most online visitors, a bucket brigade hauled diesel fuel up several flights of narrow and fume-filled stairways in a non-stop, 72-hour struggle to supply backup generators with much-needed fuel. Servers whirred and websites lit up users’ browsers as usual.

In the interviews above, taken after a recent screening of the documentary, learn how Mazzei, Fog Creek Software president and co-founder Michael Pryor, and several others banded together, rewrote the rule book and relied on teamwork and some quick thinking to ensure that in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, PEER 1’s NYC data center — and the Web properties it hosts — wouldn’t get toppled by the storm.

H/T to Francesca Kustra, videographer and video editor