Firematic Racing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Firematic racing (or Drill Team racing) is a proprietary name for a type of recreational competition among the firefighter teams involving timed completion of tasks related to or simulating common firefighting activities. The sport under its present name is most popular on Long Island, and other parts of New York State, although similar types of competition, known under different names, exist in other parts of the world.
Ever since the beginning of the fire service, 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 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. The sport has evolved to include the use of a digital scoreboard. The Joe Hunter Memorial Scoreboard is used at drills to keep the competitors and fans aware of the event standings as well as the point standings for the whole drill. A new another new addition has been Drill Team Radio which broadcasts live on an FM signal at almost every drill. The Broadcast is also streamed live via the internet for fans living across the country and abroad to be able to listen to the drill. (go to the official site listed below and click on the Drill Team Radio link to listen to a drill in the archives or listen live to a drill on the schedule)
Regulation and organization
In New York State, competition is controlled by the New York State Volunteer Firemen's Parade and Drill Team Captains Association, Inc. (NYSVFP&DTCA), which provides the officials, as well as regulating competition. The NYSVFP&DTCA holds annual meetings in which the rules governing competition are reviewed and updated if necessary.
The NYSVFP&DTCA is further divided into four divisions, of which each team is a member. The divisions are based on region, with two for Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk) and two for northern New York (Western and Northern).
Old-Fashioned vs. Motorized Drill Teams
There are two different categories of Drill-Team racing: Old-Fashioned racing teams, compete in competitions where all of the competitors race on foot, and any hoses or ladders that are used are carried on a small hand-pulled two-wheeled cart. Motorized racing teams, which use two different classes of "truck" to race with: the Class-B racer, which is typically a heavily modified older-model pickup truck retro-fitted with a pump, and the Class-C racer, which bears a resemblance to a modified dragster. (a "Class-A" truck is a typical firehouse pumper, such as an American LaFrance, E-One or Sutphen brand) Both the Class-B and Class-C racers have a pickup-type bed in the back on which to store folded-up lengths of special lightweight racing hose, a custom-made rack upon which special racing ladders can be rested for certain events. There are also usually flat back-steps on the rear of each rig for racers to stand on, as well as D-ring type handles attached to the rear of the racers so that the riders can hold on as they race down the track. Both classes will have modified racing engines, as well as racing slicks in the Class-C division.
About the tracks
The tracks used at Drill Team events are usually built and maintained by individual fire departments, but are designed to strict specifications that are dictated by an overseeing officiating body, which guarantees that there will be exact consistencies from track to track. As a racing season (from June till early September) begins, a schedule will be made up wherein various different fire departments will host the races that will make up that season, usually one each weekend.
A typical track is roughly less than a half mile long. At one end is a staging area, where each of the teams will stage until it is their turn to run the event. As one progresses down the track, there are different starting lines marked out at different distances necessitated by each different event. At a specific distance down the track, on the right-hand side, is a hydrant that during events which require water is maintained at a very specific hydrant pressure, which is usually accomplished by using either a pumphouse or Class-A pumper assigned to that task. At the far end of the track is an arch, usually constructed of wood, steel or brick, that is used for the ladder and bucket-brigade events, and which is also constructed and maintained to very specific standards of the association.