Crime & Safety
Hagerman FD Holds Junior Fire Drill Tournament
Long-running competition where kids operate old-fashioned firefighting equipment.
A Junior Drill Tournament was recently held at the in East Patchogue.
The tournament has been a tradition since at least the 1930s and teams from all over New York State come to Long Island to participate in the summer competitions. The teams are made up of Junior fire fighters ages 7 to 16.
First Assistant Chief Tony Citarella described the 'old-fashioned' program which simulates how firefighters operated years ago without motorized trucks or equipment. The Juniors compete in three different ladder events and seven or eight hose competition events.
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"The object is to complete the event in the fastest time," Citerella said. "They are broken up into age groups. The youngest division of the ladder competition is for children ages 7 to 10. The intermediate ladder competition ages 10 to 14, and the oldest bracket is ages 14 to 16.
"There are also several different types of hose events. One example, is the cart-hose, where a cart is pulled down a track. One team hooks up to the hydrant, their cart keeps going down the track, the team breaks a coupling, puts a nozzle on and trips the target [with the water]."
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The Hagerman Drill Team is known as the 'Gamblers,' a name bestowed upon them in the 1950s and has approximately 25 kids this year.
"The firemen used to play cards in between the alarms. So that was a big thing with the other departments - they knew us from playing cards. So they called us the 'Gamblers'," said Louis, a co-coach.
"It was the senior team name; the junior team always carries the senior team name," said James Vignato, another co-coach.
The team practices two or three times a week beginning in April and continuing until competitions end in August. There are generally six or seven tournaments each year.
"Basically this helps the kids learn how to deal with climbing ladders and hose handling," Citarella said. "It starts to prepare them to move up into the senior fire department."
Check the media gallery for of a relay and of the event. Have photos or videos from this event? Add them directly to the article or email them to michael@patch.com.
