TThe Merrick Fire Department is gearing up to host the Sixth Battalion Parade and Drill this weekend.
The festivities will begin with an early Saturday drill at 10am at the Four Towns Training Center on Merrick Road. Later that day, battalion departments will march through the streets of Merrick and enjoy a post-parade festival on the grounds of the Merrick train station.
The battalion consists of ten departments: Merrick, North Merrick, Bellmore, North Bellmore, East Meadow, Wantagh, Levittown, Seaford, Massapequa and North Massapequa. The old fashioned parade and mock tournament are held annually, and the host department simply rotates annually.
Fans of fire drill competitions are probably most familiar with the motorized events, in which departments compete in hose and ladder competitions, assisted by vehicles. In the next drill, this will not be the case: in the old competitions, the departments compete without the help of trucks or engines.
The department’s public information officer and former chief Ron Luparello said the old simulation events are truly a sight to behold.
“Firefighters race each other to compete in certain events to get the best time,” he explained. “Instead of vehicles, they’re pulling carts. You need people coming down with the cart, pulling the ladder. There’s a lot of strength and endurance in these events.”
Over the years, mock events have become very competitive, he said. The first 5 teams will be awarded with trophies, followed by a parade of champions around the circuit. “The winners of the drill get on one of their fire engines and parade down the track with their trophies,” Luparello said. “This is a long-standing tradition.”
Luparello said the drill should take about 3 to 4 hours to complete, and admission will be free. Later Saturday at 6 p.m., the fire departments will also participate in a parade, which follows a non-traditional route through Merrick.
Starting at Meadowbrook Road, the parade will head south on Babylon Turnpike and turn left on Smith Street, before turning right on Merrick Avenue. It will take fire departments directly through some residential areas.
Thelma Avenue, Elsie Avenue, Gormley Avenue and Carroll Avenue will be used as rest areas for departments and will be temporarily closed. The parade, Luparello said, should take no more than an hour and a half to complete.
The departmental competition doesn’t end with the drill either.
During the parade itself, there are several awards that departments can collect, including best fire department, among many others. One of the honors departments often aim to win is Most Members In Line, which means, percentage-wise, based on the number of members in that particular department, the one in the parade with the highest percentage of men and women who leave will take home the first prize.
Some guest departments from New York State will also participate in the parade.
The day concludes with a festival in the parking lot of the Merrick train station. There will be food trucks, refreshments, bounce houses and musical entertainment. During the festival, judges will tally the parade scores and announce the winners.
Luparello said even though the parade is held residentially, the department will be responsible for cleaning everything up afterward. Trash cans will be available in all staging areas, and after the festivities, members will pick up additional trash. A final cleaning will be done the next morning, in case anything was missed on Saturday night.
The Merrick FD, he added, is looking forward to hosting the events.
“The great part about it is that it’s a tradition that goes back many, many years,” he said. “In volunteer fire departments, competition between departments has always been very important. We’re just following tradition.”
