Back row (l-r): Keith Brown, New York State Assemblyman; Jenny Varese, wife of Will Varese; Rich D’Angelo, Manager, Gershow Recycling’s Huntington Facility; Will Varese, brother of Chuck Varese; and Richard Boziwick, Trustee, Village of Northport.
In support of local fire departments, Gershow Recycling donated the use of 30 cars for the 19th Annual Chuck Varese Vehicle Extrication Tournament, which was held at the Northport Fire Department’s Training Grounds at Steer’s Pit in Northport on May 9. Gershow also donated the use of its Huntington facility to enable teams to practice in the week leading up to the tournament.
Twenty-seven teams from nineteen fire departments participated in the tournament, which involved groups of five firefighters working to extricate a “victim” from a “crash” using the Jaws of Life.
Each team was judged on the amount of time it took to perform the extrication, the handling of equipment and the safety procedures they followed. The top three teams were:
- 1st Place — Huntington Manor FD #1
- 2nd Place — Commack FD #2
- 3rd Place — Northport FD #2
The Halesite Fire Department had the fastest evolution time of 3 minutes, 16 seconds.
After the tournament, the vehicles were brought back to Gershow’s facility, where they were shredded and recycled.
