6th Battalion Parade a hit for local departments

For volunteer fire departments in the Sixth Battalion of Nassau County, the annual parade and drill is always a weekend well spent.

This year, the festivities were hosted by the Merrick Fire Department. An old fashioned drill competition took place on Saturday morning, followed by a parade through residential streets in the evening. It ended at the Merrick Long Island Railroad Station on Merrick Avenue, where there was a post-parade fair that included food vendors, bouncy houses and live music.

The battalion consists of 10 fire departments — Bellmore, North Bellmore, Merrick, North Merrick, Wantagh, Seaford, East Meadow, Levittown, Massapequa and North Massapequa. The hosting department rotates annually.

During drill, which took place at the Four Towns Fireman’s Training Center on Merrick Road, the first place team was the North Bellmore Rinky Dinks. In second through fifth place were the Seaford Inmates, the North Merrick Stump Jumpers, the Bellmore Ballbreakers and the East Meadow Meadowlarks, respectively.

Fans of fire drill competitions are likely most familiar with motorized events, in which departments compete in hose and ladder competitions, with the assistance of vehicles. At this past drill, that wasn’t the case — in old fashioned competitions, the departments compete without the aid of trucks or engines.

The department’s public information officer, and ex-chief Ron Luparello, said old fashioned drill events are truly a site to see.

“The firefighters race against each other to compete in certain events to get the fastest time,” he explained. “Instead of vehicles — they’re pulling carts. You need people running down with the cart, pulling the ladder. There is a lot of strength and endurance involved in these events.”

Volunteer fire departments in the battalion look forward to this weekend, and enjoy taking part in the festivities.

“The big part of this is that it is a tradition that has gone for many, many years,” he said. “In volunteer fire departments, the competition between departments has always been a big thing. We are just carrying on the tradition.”