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An incident in which four Long Island volunteer firefighters were injured during a drill competition racing team practice session has prompted safety questions, according to WNBC-TV.
The members of the Elmont Fire Department were thrown from their truck Tuesday night when it veered into a wooden guard rail North Woodmere.
The most severely injured firefighter suffered a serious head injury, but his condition has improved since the incident.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with our engine members and their families," Elmont Fire Chief Mike Capoziello told the news station. "I'm really not thinking about anything else but that right now."
A drill team consists of a crew that that practices acrobatic maneuvers with ladders and hoses down makeshift drag strips in specialized vehicles in races taking place primarily in Long Island and upstate New York.
"It is something that has gone on for decades, 100 years maybe," Capoziello said.
Nassau County police have opened an investigation into the crash.
Some are questioning the exercises, saying they are risky and have little resemblance to routine firefighting.
On a Facebook page with messages of sympathy for the victims, a firefighter from another district criticized the drills.
"What’s the sense in racing, u get nothing out of it except headaches. If fire districts have money for racing, they should establish career fire fighters like the FDNY."
Despite the criticism, members of the Hempstead Fire Department drill team gathered for practice Wednesday.
