A simply grand weekend for parade and drill
Departments near and far flock to Bellmore-Merrick to compete in NYS Championship
Fire departments from across New York State came down to the Four Towns Fireman Training Center in Merrick this past weekend, to take place in the 2022 New York State Championship Drill, hosted this year by the North Bellmore Fire Department. The motorized drill competition took place on Saturday, followed by a parade on Sunday through the Bellmore Village.
Arthur White, chief of the North Bellmore department, explained that departments who wish to host the championship can volunteer to do so, and the Firefighting Drill Association of New York votes for who gets the honor. The location its hosted alternates between upstate and downstate departments, and when it’s hosted on Long Island, between Nassau and Suffolk County.
The championship had been a few years in the making, amid complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic. White said North Bellmore learned it would host the tournament two years ago, but everything was postponed. The department had been planning last weekend’s event for about 10-months he said, after it received word that the tournament would be taking place.
Though sometimes an old-fashioned drill competition will also take place at certain competitions, this weekend’s event was only motorized drill. A small fee of $10 was charged to enter the drill on Saturday, in addition to refreshments and souvenirs being sold. The parade, which started at the intersection of Bellmore Road and Bellmore Avenue, and ended on Pettit Avenue by the Long Island Rail Road station, was free to attend.
The winning team was the Islip Wolves and in second through fifth place was the West Sayville Flying Dutchmen, the Central Islip Hoboes, the North Lindenhurst Piston Knockers and the Hagerman Gamblers.
White said he felt that North Bellmore hosting the event was good for both the department’s members, and the community. “I think it’s a good inspiration — it brings life to (drill),” he said. “It’s good for the community. It brings the world back together. Post-Covid, things are going back to normal, and this is helpful.”
