Firemen take to the slopes for burn center charity

NJ.com

VERNON--Dressed in full gear, and clinging to a 50-foot-long hose, teams of firefighters from 32 towns across the state competed to see who could ski fastest down the slope at the Hidden Valley ski area.

Each team of five took their turn, carefully, but aggressively navigating the slope and weaving around the slalom gates. There were only two rules: no gear can fall off, and hang on to that hose.

Easier said than done.

About half the firemen wiped out before crossing the finish line, most laughing hard – and being laughed at even harder – as they rolled down the hill.

The New Jersey Firefighters’ 23rd annual Ski Race on Friday had the feel of a large family reunion.

“Doesn’t matter where you are from, all firemen are brothers,” said Ron “Rocky” Eichhorn, a member of the Franklin Borough department in Sussex.

“It’s a ton of fun,” said Scott Lerner, a Rockaway Township fireman who was skiing with the Rockaway Borough team. “Just skiing, hanging out with other firemen and it’s all for a good cause.”

The money raised will go to the St. Barnabas Burn Center in Livingston, New Jersey’s only state-certified burn treatment facility, which handles about 350 patients every year.

“When a fireman gets burned, we get king’s treatment,” said Bill Rose, from the Martinsville fire department in Somerset County.

The event last year raised about $6,000, said Beverly Foster, director of the St. Barnabas Burn Foundation, but it has raised as much as $20,000.

“We appreciate all the donations we get, but particularly when it comes to the firefighters,” Foster said. “We have a great relationship with them and this is why. They have such admiration for the burn team
and it’s reciprocal.”

Jason Doyle, from Franklin Borough, said it was important to ensure St. Barnabas had the materials and money it needed to remain a first-rate facility.

“You never know, it could be one of our guys who need them,” Doyle said.

Doyle spoke of the race itself as a metaphor for what firefighters do in the field. Stick close, work together, always watch what those around you are doing and move as a team.

The crew from Jersey City, a perennial powerhouse in the full-gear slalom, was the early favorite and they did not disappoint.

With a time of just over 21 seconds, they easily defeated second-place Clifton.

“Might be one of the best times we ever had,” said John Costanza, a captain with Jersey City.

Though few teams came close to Jersey City, all agreed the time down the slope wasn’t nearly as important as the time at the slope.

“Helping out,” Eichhorn said. “This is what America is all about.”