(Open only to Volunteer or Career Firefighters)

Public is encouraged to come and cheer your area firefighters to VICTORY!!!!

Ever since the beginning, when ladders, hoses – and even buckets – were invented as a way to extinguish fires, there was always a spirit of competition among firefighters as to who could be the first “team” to extinguish the fire. In these early days, a monetary reward was paid to those who were able to extinguish a fire. Out of this spirit of competition grew a unique form of racing team, which although can be found in a few different areas across the United States, has its roots with and is most widely practiced in the Long Island region of New York State.

What began long ago as simple, unsophisticated footraces have evolved into season-long competitions between numerous rival racing teams, with several different classes of competition, along with officiating and modern equipment. This event has proven to keep firefighters in good physical shape as well as mental readiness. Many volunteer departments have found these types of public viewed events as a great source for retention and recruitment within cities, towns and communities. The sport is most popular in New York and Florida where National Competitions have been held.

About the racing events

The races have the goal of beating the clock, not only to beat your team’s best time in a particular event, but to have the fastest time of all the teams in that event. Statewide records are kept for each event, and in the event that one is potentially broken, officials at the track to convene to inspect the equipment used in running the event, as well as the electronic timing equipment. Points are allotted for each event for First-Place, Second-Place, etc. therefore the team having the most points at the end of the day is declared the Winner of that day’s event. At the end of the season, there are Regional and State Finals, which teams covet winning, or at least placing high among the ranks.

Hose competitions

The hose competitions, contestants will either run down the track carrying lengths of hose, or pull lengths of hose down the track on a small two-wheeled cart. At the hydrant end, one person has the job of attaching the hose to the hydrant, then waiting to open the hydrant at exactly the right time, timing it so that as the last competitor, who is at the nozzle-end of the hose, reaches the point where the hose is fully-extended down the track, the water is just coming to the nozzle tip, at which point the nozzleman aims the water at a flip-up target positioned at the end of the track. As the target gets triggered, the electronic timer stops the clock.

Ladder Competition

The ladder competitions are teams using the same hose cart to carry a special racing ladder down the length of the track. In these events, the idea is race down the track, and upon reaching a specific point at the end of the track near the wooden arch, pull the ladder off of the cart so that the ladder foots in such a way that as the ladder is raised – using the momentum of the moving cart or truck – it places the tip at the top of the arch at with the ladder at a certain angle to the arch, and with the tip within a specified area at the top. At this point, as racing team members foot the ladder, one or more team members climb as quickly as possible to the top of the ladder in order to grasp the top rung, at which point the clock is stopped.

There are strict regulations regarding this event. Should the ladder be footed too close or too far from the arch, or if the tip is not in the correct (safety) area at the top of the arch, the team is disqualified for that particular event. This is due to the inherent dangers in raising a ladder at speed.

Bucket Brigade Competition

The last event of the day is always the Bucket Brigade. Each team member is issued a five gallon canvas bucket, and after running a specified distance down the track, one by one they dip their buckets into a trough filled with water. The first three or four team members will climb a stationary ladder that has been affixed to the arch, and take positions on the ladder as one by one the other team members hand buckets of water up to them, until the top-most member dumps that bucket of water into a 55-gallon drum that is stationed atop the arch. He then tosses that bucket onto the ground and grabs the next one, empties it, and so forth until the drum is filled up, at which point the clock is stopped.