The South Hempstead Rascals capped their 2026 competitive season with a fourth-place finish at the New York State Championship Drill as fire department drill teams from across the region gathered on Weir Street in Hempstead to test their speed, precision and teamwork.
The Rascals, consisting of members of the South Hempstead Fire Department and the Rockville Centre community, finished with nine points on Aug. 15. The Central Islip Hoboes captured the championship with 28 points, followed by the East Islip Guzzlers with 17 and the Spencerport Red Onions with 15.5.
South Hempstead finished two points better than the fifth-place Miller Place Extinguishers.
The championship weekend was hosted by the Hempstead, South Hempstead and West Hempstead fire departments, with the West Hempstead Fire Department and its Westerners Drill Team helping host the competition.
South Hempstead immediately made its presence felt in the three-man ladder, recording a season-best time of 6.44 seconds. The performance earned four points, putting the Rascals in second place after the opening event.
The Rascals collected two more points in the C Ladder competition, finishing with the fourth-best time of 9.19 seconds. They matched that result in C Hose, where their 12.53-second performance also earned two points, giving them eight total at the halfway point of the day.
South Hempstead could only muster one more point over the final four events, with that coming during the penultimate motor pump competition. The Rascals posted a 6.78-second time, the fifth-fastest among the teams that completed the run.
The team also competed in the B-ladder, B-hose, efficiency and buckets events. South Hempstead did not record a time in the B-ladder and went over the maximum time in the B-hose.
The team’s 10.68-second time in efficiency and 22.81-second time in buckets did not result in additional points.
The fourth-place finish continued a busy season for the Rascals, who competed in seven tournaments and accumulated 84.5 points over 54 runs. Their season included a standout performance at the Nassau County Drill on July 17, when South Hempstead scored 32 points to win the tournament.
The Rascals also scored 12.5 points at the Joe Hunter Memorial Drill on July 2 and 10 points at the Lindenhurst Invitational on June 6.
The Firematic competition has a history stretching back more than a century in New York. Fire departments originally competed in events testing fundamental skills such as stretching hoses and raising ladders, later incorporating motorized firefighting equipment as it became commonplace.
The competitions have evolved into tests of speed, firefighting skills, and teamwork, while giving volunteer firefighters opportunities to practice basic proficiencies, build physical fitness, and develop the teamwork used during emergency responses.
The competition was part of a weekend celebrating New York’s Firematic racing tradition. Festivities continued Aug. 16 with a parade from the South Hempstead Fire Department to the Weir Street arch.
