The NYPD yesterday tried to distance itself from the remarks of a now-retired cop who called city firefighters "amateurs" on a nationally televised documentary aired last week.

Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD spokesman, lambasted "the regrettable comments" of former cop Venton "Vic" Hollifield, who was seen on the ABC show "24/7" last Tuesday at a two-car crash criticizing the way the injured were handled by New York's Bravest.

Browne issued his statement in advance of angry advertisements taken out in today's newspapers by the Uniformed Firefighters Association, which again demand an apology from Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.