Local Firemen Win First at 50th Annual FDNY Ski Race

By Katie McFadden

There’s no doubt firefighters are professionals when it comes to climbing up buildings, but a select few have proven to be pros in sliding down slopes. A group of Rockaway firefighters just returned from winning the 50th Annual FDNY Ski Race in Hunter Mountain on Tuesday, January 28.

These men are far from rookies on the job and on the mountain. The local team of John Martin of Engine 250, age 50, 48-year-old Tommy McElhinney of Safety Battalion 1, 46-year-old Tommy Murphy of Ladder 175, 47-year-old Mike Leonard of Battalion 41 and Rob McKeefrey of Battalion 47, made it down the slope the fastest, earning them first place in the annual event.

In 1973, a group of FDNY firefighters challenged a group of Hunter Mountain Firefighters to a friendly, unique competition to see who could ski down the fastest, while holding a firehose. That little challenge would turn into the largest single day slalom race in the world, with the first official event in 1974. Fifty years later, it’s still going strong, with now retired FDNY Lt. Joe Jove leading the charge on it since 1979. And not only is it a big camaraderie builder, but a big fundraiser. The event originally raised funds for the Uniformed Firefighters Association Widow and Children’s Fund and for the past 25 years, funds have gone toward the New York Firefighter Burn Center Fund. The nonprofit is dedicated to the advancement of burn care, research, prevention, education, and the proper treatment of burns.

But this isn’t your average ski race. Part of the requirement is that a team of five works together, while all wearing their helmets and turn-out coats. As if that wasn’t a challenge in itself, they do it while all holding on to a 50-foot firehose while going down the course. The competition was originally for skiers, but a snowboarding division also emerged out of it in 2017.

In 2010, a group of local firefighters decided to throw their hat into the ring after getting on the job. “We’ve all known each other since grammar school and we all used to ski in Windham together as kids and we all happened to become firemen, so in 2010, we said, let’s put a team together,” Martin said. “It worked out pretty good.”

By pretty good, Martin means they won that first year. And then again in 2012, 2013, 2014, and now they’ve been crowned champs of the 50th annual event, with their names once again written on the championship trophy, using Ladder 171 as their firehouse, in tribute to the now disbanded unit by Fort Tilden. “We put it in memory of that truck,” Martin said.

Speaking more on the event, Martin says, “It’s basically about getting down alive,” he said, giving major credit to their youngest teammate, McKeefrey. “He holds on for dear life. I don’t know if he’s the best or the youngest, but you have to put your best skiers on the end because they get thrown around back and forth. You’re only as fast as your slowest guy,” he said.

Martin says there were about 70 teams this year between ski and snowboarding teams, and they had the fastest time by about four seconds. Each team gets two runs down the course, and as well-seasoned competitors, Rockaway’s team has figured out some strategies. “You don’t want to get up there too early or too late. If it’s too early, the course is slow, and if it’s too late, the course is icy,” he said. Those icy conditions can present a big obstacle. “Some of the crashes look like they should be on ESPN’s top 10,” Martin said. But it’s all in good fun. “All of the firemen are at the bottom of the slope, cheering each other on,” he said.

In addition to competition day, Martin says the event as a whole is a good time. “They hold it in the middle of the week, so we go up on a Monday and we get our own rental house for two or three days of fun. Hunter Mountain really accommodates us. It’s good camaraderie and they raise a lot of money for the Burn Center,” he said. Hunter Mountain itself donated $5,000 to the cause this year. After the races, the firefighters, about 500 of them, gather in the lodge to celebrate. As the 50th anniversary, the winning team got to say a cheers with Steve Ternlund, one of the members of the very first winning team in 1974.

And with five wins under their belt and taking the 50th anniversary win, the Rockaway team has decided to end on a high note. “We made a pact to only race together, and guys are having kids and rising up the ranks and moving on, so we’ve decided to retire the team and move on to bigger and better things,” Martin said. But they’re hoping another local team will take their place.

For more info about the NY Firefighters Burn Center or to donate, head to: www.nyffburncenter.com