WHFD's Patrick Cloudman wins father's memorial trophy

In 1963, a young John Cloudman won the Motor Pump event of a drill competition at Hempstead Fire Department. A little over 60 years later, at that very spot,  John’s son Patrick Cloudman of the West Hempstead Fire Department won that same event — and secured the memorial trophy made in honor of his father, who died earlier this year.

The memorial trophy honoring Cloudman, a lifelong firefighter of the Hempstead Fire Department who died of underlying health issues in January, was unveiled at this year’s Hempstead Invitational Drill Competition on August 3. But never did his son, Patrick, expect that he’d be the one to win it.

“After we ran the shot and heard the gun, and I knew we won, I almost cried at the hydrant,” Patrick said. “It was very emotional. It’s hard to explain — surreal and emotional and happy, all mixed in together.”

Cloudman grew up surrounded by the firefighting community. His father, Jack, was a firefighter since 1935, as were all of Cloudman’s neighbors. He joined the Hempstead Fire Department in 1962, and felt a pull to be part of their drill team, The Hempstead Flukes.

During the drill competitions, Cloudman often ran hydrant as a thrower — meaning that during the Motor Pump drill, which tested speed and efficiency, he was responsible for leaping off the truck and attaching the hose to the fire hydrant. During the August 3 drill competition, that was the same event that Patrick ran — and his performance helped cinch the John Cloudman Memorial Trophy for his team, the West Hempstead Westerners.

“Me, going into that tournament, if I had to put a chance on us winning against the teams that were there that day, I would give us about a 15 percent chance of winning,” Patrick said. “And it ended up happening. So it was just pretty wild.”

The memorial trophy represents Cloudman’s life of service. After he joined the Hempstead Fire Department, he was drafted into the military and served from 1965 to 1967 during the Vietnam War. During his firefighting career, Cloudman was Honorary Chief of the Hempstead Fire Department, Ex-Captain of West End Engine No. 5, and a lifetime member of the Nassau County Drill Team Captains Association.

Cloudman even rescued two children from a burning building in 1973, for which he received a commendation. He had a deep sense of community and responsibility, which shined not only in the fire department, but in Cloudman’s personal life, too.

“Growing up, I played a ton of sports,” Patrick said. “He never missed any of my practices — he would be there, by himself, the only parent in the stands. He was just involved.”

Winning his father’s memorial trophy would have been meaningful no matter what — but it meant something extra to Patrick, he said, that they won it for an event that he himself partook in. It was a full circle moment, and a testament to how impactful his father’s firefighting legacy has been on him.

Cloudman’s impact as a firefighter lives on in not only the fire departments and their drill teams, but within the generations of his own family. Both of his sons, Patrick and Jimmy, became firefighters in 2002. Now the fourth generation of Cloudmans — five of John’s six grandchildren — are junior firefighters in Islip.

“The camaraderie around the fire department is unmatched,” Patrick said. “It becomes part of your life. You can tell how it got passed down to so many generations, to me now, and I’ll be passing it down to my children.

“It’s just something that’s ingrained in you.”