Blogger: St. James Wildcats, a Fire Department Tradition, in Danger of Disappearing

A blogger recently posed a question on Smithtown Patch: What began in 1932 and ended in 2013?

Although based on rumors, the answer, much to the blogger’s dismay, might be the St. James Wildcats, a fire department drill team that competes in New York State against other departments to see who is fastest in a number of competitions related to fighting fires.

According to the team’s website, the St. James Wildcats were established back in 1932 and has won four state championship titles over the years in 1957, 1966, 1971  and 1972. That record is in danger of never being extended since the blog post says that rumors have surfaced about the eventual demise of the team.

“I have been told that the St. James Wildcats have been disbanded by the Board of Commissioners and I am reaching out to you for your help and support,” wrote the blogger, Dan Laverty.

He went on to describe the origins of the St. James Wildcats in the comments.

“Ever since the beginning of the fire service, when ladders, hoses - and even buckets - were invented as a way to extinguish fires, there was always a spirit of competition among firefighters as to who could be the first to extinguish the fire,” he said. “In these early days, a monetary reward was paid to those who were able to extinguish a fire. Out of this spirit of competition grew a unique form of racing team, which although can be found in a few different areas across the United States, has its roots with and is most widely practiced in the Long Island region of New York State.”

Contact information on how to show your support for the St. James Wildcats can be found within the original blog post by clicking here. The next fire district meeting is on April 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the fire department substation at  221 Woodlawn Avenue in St. James. Taxpayers are welcome to attend the meeting.

Have you ever seen the St. James Wildcats in action? Do you support keeping them alive? Let us know in the comments.

Also, if you happen to have pictures of the St. James Wildcats in action, share them with our readers by upload the images to this post.