A Conversation with Will Jakubowski of the Elmont Bangtails

by Dan Laverty

This is a conversation is Will Jakubowski of the Elmont Bangtails. Will is currently still recovering from injuries sustained during a practice run late in the 2011 season. I wanted to conduct this so that people would get the chance to get to know Will and better understand him. I sat with Will, his girlfriend Stephanie, his parents Debbie and Robert, Will's therapist from the Brady Institute at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and family friend Gary Brower at the William St. George Drill. I got to know them a little bit and had a great time sitting with them. We exchanged stories about how we got into Firematic Drilling. Will and I have a lot in common, both of our Fathers raced and we both went on to race ourselves. The Jakubowskis are a great family and were a pleasure to watch some of the drill with. This conversation took place via e-mail between myself, Will and his mother Debbie

DL:  How old are you?

WJ:  28

DL:  Single/Married?

WJ:  Single and currently dating Stephanie

DL:  Pets?

WJ:  None of my own but I have cat-napped my neighbor’s cat that hangs around our house. I feed it and it brings me all the mice it kills. The cat is always at our glass doors looking for me. We have seven acres and there is a lot of wildlife out there. We feed the deer, birds, wild turkeys and pheasants. I enjoy the quiet of the country.

DL:  Favorite TV show?

WJ:  At night after a long day of therapy I like to watch the Wheel of Fortune and Two and a Half Men on TV. I usually head off to bed around 9 but talk on the phone with Stephanie for a while. I'm sleeping less now but still need 9 hours a night. The brain only heals when you are sleeping.

DL:  Favorite activities (besides racing)?

WJ:  My hobbies are mostly firematic related. Cold-water rescue, Haz-Mat, drill team and I love those signal 10s. I've started doing some fresh water fishing with my life-skills therapist. It's fun but nothing big here in the streams. I did catch a crawfish last week. Where our house is it's really rural. I walk the hill and go visit the neighbor’s goat and sheep farm. The farm is about a mile up the road. My sister, Donna lives outside of Syracuse, NY. Donna and her boyfriend Matt raise Black Angus cows. A new calf was born this week. I wish she lived closer so I could help her with her farm.

DL:  Were you a Junior Fireman?

WJ:  I was about six when the Lawrence Cedarhurst Fire Department started up a Junior Fire Dept. They hadn't had one for a years and now there was a whole group of young kids who fathers belonged to LC. I ran on the Junior Drill Team for years. We really only went to Battalion drills, nothing big. I was Lieutenant and then Captain. I learned a lot from the guys at LC. They really showed me around the trucks and the equipment. When I was old enough to join they didn't have a drill team and had sold the B-Truck a while back to Levittown. I joined Elmont to the disappointment of a lot of the guys at LC but Elmont has a good relationship with LC and we help each other out with fast teams and mutual aides so all is good.

DL:  What was your first drill?

WJ:  As a teenager I used to ride my bike to North Woodmere Park to watch the Bangtails practice. I would sit up in the bleachers. I loved the sound of the truck racing down the track. I would go to the races when I could usually with Gary Brower. I was still too young to drive. I started getting friendly with the members of the Bangtails. I was about 14 or so when they invited me to go to the State Drill with the team. I rode up with them in the van to Main-Transit. The next year they invited me to go up to Deerfield. I rode up with Jimmy McCarron, the team driver at the time, in the tractor trailer hauling the rigs and equipment. What a thrill it was! I remember them dropping me off at home on Cedarhurst Ave. in Cedarhurst around midnight or 1am lights and sirens. Guess we woke some neighbors that night.

DL:  Do you have family members who were members of a drill team?

WJ:  My dad and Uncle Mike ran on the Screech Owls back in the 80's. My Uncle Billy ran back in the 60's. No helmets back then. The Screech Owls of Lawrence Cedarhurst only had a B-Truck. I guess racing was in their blood and now it's in mine. I grew up in the fire department. My dad belongs to LC for over 40 years and was Fireman of the Year in 2011. He received the award while I was in the hospital so I didn't get to see him receive it. My Uncle Mike was Chief of LC when I was a little boy. We lived next to each other and he gave me an old Home Alert radio for my bedroom. I was only about 3 at the time. During the night when the radio went off I was outside in the chief's car before he got out of the house waiting to go, still in my pajamas. He even forgot me at a call one day and the truck radioed him to say I was on the curb. I got to ride the truck back that day. Glad my mom wasn't listening to the radio…we would both been in trouble. My Uncle Mike bought me my first set of turn-out gear for my 3rd birthday. I lived in it.

DL:  How old were you when you joined the Elmont Fire Department?

WJ:  I first joined Elmont the month I turned 18 which was in June of 2002. I was assigned to Engine 702. I joined the Bangtails and ran Efficiency, Motor Pump and Buckets. I left Elmont for a couple of years when I moved to Putnum Valley and joined the fire department there. It wasn't long before I moved back to Long Island and rejoined Elmont and ran with the Bangtails again. I begged Brain Schriefer to let me jump off the back of the B-Truck and C-Rig. It wasn't long before I was running 3-Man ladder and B and C Hose.
DL:  What rank have you achieved as a member of the department?
WJ:  At the time of the accident I held the office of Second Lieutenant in the Elmont Fire Department and was the Captain of the Haz-Mat team.


DL:  What is your favorite event?
WJ:  My favorite is C-Hose. It's a long, fast run.
DL:  What is your greatest memory as a member of the Bangtails?
WJ:  The greatest moment for me was the Nassau County Drill in 2011 when the Bangtails took second place in the drill. We won lots of trophies that day. The best were first place in 3-Man, and B and C Hose. I ran in those events. We had 17 points going into the last two events. Motor Pump and Buckets are not our best events. We couldn't catch up to first place but we took second. It was a great. We were hot that day!!

DL:  What event would you like to see run besides the Big 8?
WJ:  I saw Motor Hose Replacement run up in Deerfield in June of this year. I live about an hour from there so my mom drove me up to see the drill. It was different from any event I've ever seen, I thought it was pretty cool.
DL:  Where do you like State Drills to be held? Upstate or Long Island?
WJ:  Wherever the NYS drills are run, if upstate or on L.I., they draw a good crowd. It's a long day but it's worth it.

DL:  What are your thoughts on the recent changes to the C-trucks (smaller tires and hubs)? What are your thoughts on the recent rule regarding helmets having to be DOT certified?

WJ:  The changes made to Drill Team racing this year I guess is a good thing. Everyone needs to be safe but drill team racing in my eyes was always safe. Better helmets, that's good too. I haven't tried one on yet so I really can't say that much about them. I wore a hockey helmet and was wearing it the night of the accident. I'd like to get it back when the investigation is over. I don't remember the accident at all and have lost a period of about 2 months. I don't really know much about the changes to drill team racing. I do know from what I've been told is the accident was due to mechanical failure. Mike, our driver, is excellent and well-skilled and I'm sure he did everything right that night. He gives you a good ride and if he had an indication that something was wrong with the rig before the run we wouldn't have been on it. I blame no one and nor does my family. I'm glad my teammates weren't seriously hurt and have returned to fire fighting. I will too in time.

DL:  Would you like to talk about what happened to you last August?

WJ:  I was a patient at JHMC (Jamaica Hospital Medical Center) in Jamaica, Queens for 3 months. I awoke from my coma 9 days after the accident but remained in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit for another month. I had procedures to drain the blood from my brain and a pressure probe to monitor my brain pressure. I also had procedures for a trache, feeding tube and a mesh strainer placed in the main artery to my heart to prevent any blood clots from entering my heart. I also received 3 pints of blood and had 3 seizures. A broken clavicle and index finger were the least of my problems. As sick as I was, I hated the trache and had to have my hands tied to the bed because I constantly tried to pull out the tubes. I was transferred at the end of September to The Brady Institute for Traumatic Brain Injury at JHMC. It is the number one center in NYS to treat head injuries. I remained there in acute care for 56 days and was never without support from my family and my fellow firefighters from Elmont, Lawrence-Cedarhurst and across L.I. I'm told that my family was very well cared for while I was so critical. They never felt abandoned or that they were in this alone. West Hempstead Fire Dept. held a blood drive in my honor for which I'm very thankful for. During my time in the Brady Institute I had to learn to sit-up, stand, walk, speak and eat again. I have amazed my doctors, nurses and therapists and continue to do so. I never once gave up and am now running again. Speech is still a problem but I'm working hard on improving it. They say I have some cognitive issues yet but I think I'm doing well. I feel a lot better.

On November 20th 2011, 4 days before Thanksgiving, I walked out of JHMC in my Class-A uniform carrying my helmet. The halls were filled with members of the Elmont and Lawrence Cedarhurst Fire Depts., family and friends. They brought trucks and chief cars to the hospital and had a whole procession back to Elmont with lights and sirens. At the fire house we had a big lunch with food and cake.

Late that afternoon the Elmont Fire Dept. transported me to our family home in Sloansville, NY where my mom lives. I will continue out-patient therapy at Sunnyview Rehab in Schenectady, NY. I receive PT, OT, Speech, Aqua, life-skills and running therapies 5 days a week between Sunnyview, Albany Medical Center and Russell Sage College TBI program. This has been my life for the past almost 11 months. I am told that I was given about 12 hours to live and 3 Priests gave me Last Rites.
DL:  Do you regret ever having joined the drill team and racing?

WJ:  I never regret for a minute running on the drill team. I understand Elmont needed a year off to regroup and re-focus. The accident hit everyone hard. We'll be back so don't count us out yet. We were a good team. We practice hard and we do our best on race day.
DL:  What are some of the Bangtails sayings or Mottos?

WJ:  Our team motto is "Give it Hell for the Old Man" It's written on the B-Truck.

DL:  Do you have a Fire Department/Drill team T-Shirt collection?

WJ:  I have received many, many, well-wishes from the drill teams across LI and NYS. Many departments sent T-Shirts with messages written on them. Some shirts came from as far away as North Carolina. I've received about 150 Fire Department and team shirts I am very appreciative of everyone’s thoughts, visits and prayers.

DL:  I know that racing is in your heart and will always be a part of your life. What do you want to do in the future in regards to racing? (Officiate, Coach, Race,)

WJ:  I look forward to getting back everything I lost due to my injuries and running with my team again.

DL:  That’s great to hear. We all wish you the best and thanks for taking the time to talk with me.

WJ:  Thank you, Dan.

Recap of the William St. George Drill

by Dan Laverty

What a great day weather-wise for the 5^th Annual William St. George Drill this past Saturday June 30th. The Joe Hunter Memorial Scoreboard was up and running and the Drill Team Radio Crew was in attendance. The "From On Top of the Arch" radio show was co-anchored by Twan Simone of the Hempstead Yellow Hornets and Pat Jeffares of the Hempstead Flukes and the North Lindenhurst Piston Knockers. I am sure Pat will correct me on this whole blog post just as he corrected Twan and I on the radio all day (we would not have it any other way.) We all love when Pat is up in New York and can spend some time with us on the broadcast. The day started with a 6 piece drum and brass ensemble at the bottom of the arch playing our national anthem. There was also the thank you for coming speech from the Baldwin Fire Department.

The Baldwin Tomcats were first on the line to kick off this drill and ran an 8.11 in 3-Man Ladder. The Termites were next with a time of 6.86 with Phil Athenis running first man. Brentwood ran a 7.41 which the Lakeview Sparks tied at the end of the event. Oyster Bay’s young legs put up a time of 7.13 for their first points of the day. Islip Terrace received a No Time for touching the top rung out of sequence. I noticed that the first man after reaching the top of the arch stood between the ladder and the officials and that made it very hard for them to see the other climbers. First men in 3-Man need to either sit on the arch or stand to the side when they reach the top so the officials have an unobstructed view and can stop the clock for your team. The only other 6 second run that day was ran by the North Bellmore Rinky Dinks who ran a 6.75 and took 1st place in the event.

B-Ladder began with the Tomcats running a 7.39 which took 5th place and gave them their first points of the day. The Termites ran next with a time of 6.25 adding four more points to the four they got in 3-Man Ladder. The Tigers ran a 6.99 and took 4th place. The Greenhorns did not take any points in 3-Man and seemed determined to make up for that in B-Ladder running a 1st place run of 6.12. The Bucks, who recently purchased the Inwood Mud Duck’s B-Truck, put it to good use and ran a 6.30 for 3rd place. The Rinky Dinks received a No Time when the top of their ladder reached the arch outside the safety zone. One of the diggers (Dan Forth) was not able to hold on and that made the ladder go askew. The big news in the racing world was the inaugural run of The Lakeview Sparks who have not participated in a motorized drill in over 60 years and back then they were called The Lakeview Lumberjacks. With a new team name, new team shirts and a B-Truck that was purchased from The Sayville Blue Jays, the Sparks came to the line. Driver and Ex-Chief Matt Gritman, Diggers Lt. Patrick McNeill (cousin of the writer of this article), Cody Marra (Nassau’s Marra), Thrower Lt. Freddy Senti (whose grandfather was a member of the Lakeview Lumberjacks) and Climber L. Pete Sherkel came down the course and ran a 7.43. The crowd of fellow racers, friends and fans in the stands gave them a rousing ovation for their first motorized run.

C-Ladder only saw seven of the twelve teams in attendance come to the line. The Termites were the first to put up a time for points with a 9.92 and that gave them the 1st place trophy and brought their point total for the day to 13. The Tigers ran an 11.46 for 4th place. The Greenhorns ran a 10.37 and brought their point total to 9 for the day so far. The Frogs took their first points of the day with a run of 14.99 and the Rinky Dinks ran an 11.54 for 5th place.

The points heading into the hose events were as follows: Termites – 13, Greenhorns – 9, Rinky Dinks – 6, Tigers 5.5 and the Frogs, Bucks and Teddy’s Boys each with 3 points.

While the Water Test was being conducted, the crowd got a nice chance to enjoy some music courtesy of the Scoreboard Crew of Stephen McCarroll and Tom Scott of the C.I. Hoboes. These two guys are out there week after week sitting in the sun making sure the correct information is put up on the Joe Hunter Memorial Scoreboard for all to see. I myself took a crack at running the scoreboard for B-Hose and it was a little nerve wracking at first because of the crowd in the stands and the fact that my Consulting Editor of The Drill Team Blog (among other things) Chris Murphy of the C.I. Hoboes was watching from on top of the Arch. But I got the hang of it and hope to give Stephen and Thomas a break at future drills so they can enjoy themselves and be with their team. There is an open invitation for anyone willing to run the scoreboard and help out. Just click on this link and respond to the post over on Digger 74.

As mentioned on the radio broadcast The Drill Team Blog will be partnering with Long Island FD Rant News (new sponsor for Drill Team Radio in 2012) for a digital publication that will solely focus on the Firematic Drills and Parades that occur on Long Island every summer.

From their site:

Long Island FD Rant News is a monthly digital publication that will bring you the latest news about working fires, motor vehicle collisions, rescue calls and all other emergencies that the fire departments of Nassau and Suffolk Counties have responded to in the past month.

We will be mailing this publication to everyone on our email list who have “opted-in” to receive emails from either NassauFDRant or SuffolkFDRant websites. If you are not a member of either site then check us out here: NassauFDRant and SuffolkFDRant.

SUBSCRIBE NOW to get latest news emailed to you directly.

This monthly publication will be bringing you much more of the fire, rescue and EMS news that’s happening around Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Our contributing photographers and correspondents are out on the streets capturing the images of Nassau and Suffolk’s Bravest as they protect the lives and properties of the residents of Long Island.

This NEW digital format allows us to bring you more stories and more photos directly to your inbox each month and also allows you to link DIRECTLY to the photo galleries to view even more photos. You will even be able to purchase the photos you like directly from the photographers who took them.

This new model means that you will be getting more of the news and photos of the jobs that fire departments respond to every month instead of just one or two photos printed on paper. "Our correspondents work hard to bring us this action and that’s why we encourage everyone to support them by purchasing their work."

The highly anticipated Drill and Parade first edition of this publication is slated for July 15th. This edition will chronicle the drills and parades that have occurred so far this summer and continue to report on them as the summer goes on. Just go to Long Island FD Rant News and follow the instructions so you can receive the publication to your email account.

The Drill Team Radio crew was putting on the "From On Top of the Arch" show as I said earlier and during the water test they had a "Name that B-Truck" contest going on. Twan Simone played the sound of four B-Trucks over the radio and gave the listeners a chance to name that B-Truck. I do not know the results of this contest but they will be given again at the next drill as I am sure this contest will be talked about as it was a welcome addition to the broadcast.

The C-Hose contest saw only one 12 run and that was a 12.57 run by The Termites giving them five more points. The Raiders took their first points of the day with a run of 13.13 and took 2nd place. 3rd place was won by the Rinky Dinks with a run of 14.03. In 4th place were the Frogs with a time of 14.99. The Greenhorns wanted to add to their point total and did just that by running a 15.55 taking another point and 5th place.

With the C-Truck events concluded it was time for a long line of B-Trucks to take to the track again. Not to be outdone by any other team, the Termites ran an 8.28 for another 5 points and 1st place. The Rebels from Levittown ran an 11.69 for their only points of the day for 2nd place. 3rd place was taken by the Islip Terrace Schlagers for 3 points and this was also their only points for the day. The Raiders took 2 points with their run of 13.60 and the Greenhorns rounded out the top five with a run of 14.82.

Going into the Efficiency contest the points total looked like this: Termites – 23, Greenhorns – 11, Rinky Dinks – 9, Raiders – 6, Tigers – 5.5 and the Frogs – 5.

The Tomcats took their first point of the day with a run of 10.21. The Tigers came down the course and put up a time of 9.57, their time stood up for 1st place until the Greenhorns ran a 9.37 to beat them. The Rinky Dinks ran a 9.45 to give them 4 more points and 2nd place in the event. The Raiders ran a 10.16 for 2 points and 4th place in Efficiency. “On the bubble” were the Termites who place in every event so far with a run of 10.90.

The Motor Pump contest started with the Tomcats running an 8.45 which they would not know till the end of the contest would tie them with the Frogs for 1st place. This gave each team 4.5 points. New Hyde Park unfortunately received an Over Time when their hose uncoupled at the "Wild Mouse" (discharge on the driver’s side of the truck). The Teddy’s Boys ran an 8.78 giving them 3 more points for the day. The Greenhorns and the Raiders rounded out the top five with times of 8.94 and 9.00 respectively. Almost taking points in their first Motor Pump run were The Lakeview Sparks with a time of 9.17, their second 6th place run on the day.

Mathematically, the Termites did not have this drill won just yet. The Termites with 23 points were being trailed by The Greenhorns with 18 points. The best the Greenhorns could do at this point is hope for a tie for 1st place. This made Buckets pretty fun to watch and see what was going to happen. The Termites ran a 27.23 and had to wait for nine other teams to run before they knew their fate. A sigh of relief overcame the Termites when The Teddy’s Boys’ time of 28.61 was announced. The Greenhorns ran a 30.60 which guaranteed the Termites would be champs for the day. The Frogs and Bucks rounded out the top five with runs of 29.85 and 32.27 respectively.

This Drill ended with the top 5 teams driving onto the course the wrong way so to speak and lined up at an angle towards the arch. The rest of the teams who participated came down the course also. When the Lakeview Sparks made their way past the 1st place Termites and 2nd Place Greenhorns they were welcomed with a shower of liquids. Everyone christened the Sparks and clapped for them on a job well done at their first motorized drill in 2012. The hosts of this drill had a bandstand set up on the course past the hydrant where the top 5 trophies and the William St. George trophy; which is in a beautiful case, was presented to the New Hyde Park Termites. Everyone got together after a day of competing against each other to swap stories, give advice to each other and listen to the band play.

Full results of this drill can be found over at the www.NYSDrillTeams.com.

I try to keep my blog entries neutral but I have to touch on something. Watching the Sparks come out and run with the motorized teams made me very proud of a group of guys/gals that worked really hard. It also made me very proud of our sport as everyone welcomed them and even stopped by their camp with congrats and advice. It just goes to show that if you put in the practice, overcome the bumps in the road, you can fulfill your dreams and do what you grew up watching others do.

Up in the Western area of New York State a drill was held on June 30th, 2012 by the North Greece Fire Department. Here are the top five in points for that drill. (With the disadvantage of not attending this drill I cannot give your more than the below. We are always looking for writers so if you want your area represented more in depth please feel free to submit something via email to DrillTeamBlog@gmail.com.

Full results of this drill can also be found at www.NYSDrillTeams.com.