iStockphoto / Lichtwolke
The New York State drill teams competitions across the Empire State bring together the FDNY’s finest and highlights from a recent competition are truly more electric than 99% of the highlights seen on SportsCenter on any given day.
After seeing these, I’m filled with regret. Never in my time living in New York did I hear about these FDNY / NYS FD drill teams competitions. And yes, I am aware that FDNY and NYS FD are separate entities but 99.999% of America believes it’s called FDNY so don’t kill me for including their name here when it’s NYS FD… But yeah, I would’ve been there at 5 AM on a Saturday morning to line up a front row seat for an event like this. This clip came from mes.fire:
@mes.fire Strength meets speed & agility with this 100+ year tradition in New York! Check out these highlights from the @NYSFDdrillteams 2024 competitions! #firefighter #firehouse #firedepartment #firefighting #nyfirefighter #firehouse #thinredline #mesfire #volunteerfirefighter #firefightertraining #fy #fyp #firefightertiktok
And here are the 2024 New York State Champions in action, the Central Islip Hoboes doing what they do best:
The fact that the speed at which they’re operating, using literal hotrods tuned up to look like fire engines, makes it even better. Sure, they’d never operate at these speeds during a wildfire/live fire but I like to know that they’re training at these speeds. That brings me comfort. You don’t want an over-thinker responding to your house on fire. You want a Type A individual who is going balls to the wall.
The NYS FD Drill Teams competitions are put on by a centralized organization. Competitions are held all Summer starting in June and the New York State Championship was held back in mid-August. Check out their website to find an event near you.