Trustees End NY Drill Team Over Injury Costs

COPENHAGEN — The vote by village trustees this past week to end the Volunteer Fire Department Drill Team may not be the last word on the topic.

Fire Chief Kevin G. Sheitz said he was “reserving comment” until after the fall meeting of the Northern New York Volunteer Fire Department Parade & Drill Team Captains Association on Saturday at the Copenhagen Fire Department. Chief Sheitz is also the president of the association.

The organization includes area teams such as Clayton, Dexter, Great Bend, and others. The meeting was slated for “elections and general business.”

Firefighters taking a break from the closed gathering stood outside having a smoke. The men doubted anyone would be commenting even after the meeting because “they’ve got a lot to figure out before they decide what to do.” One of the men laughed and said under his breath, “then you’ll really want a comment.”

Village trustees, during their monthly meeting last week, passed a motion made by Mayor Scott L. Alexander to end the team due to the high cost of workers’ compensation cases resulting from drill team injuries.

This isn’t the first time the topic has been broached. In January, a contentious debate roiled a town of Denmark meeting over the idea to move the tax burden for the team from the village of Copenhagen to the town of Denmark. The Copenhagen fire department covers only part of the town of Denmark.

According to Lewis County Legislative Clerk Teresa K. Clark, a local law was proposed to make the change, but it was never confirmed.

That left the entire $13,000 yearly tax bill for workers’ compensation solely the responsibility of village taxpayers.

According to village Trustee Kim R. Vogt, that amount will go up in 2020 resulting from two additional drill team injuries last year, making the total three.

Extreme-sport-like firematic competitions taken on by drill teams are the heart of firemen’s field days throughout the north country every summer, and the Copenhagen Cubs, as the team is known, have been a cornerstone of those events for the past 80 years.

The most dangerous races involve high-speed, dexterity-testing ladder drills and hose events. Firefighters hang off the back of trucks that burn rubber for a short distance, come to a sudden, screeching halt and team members fly off the back and either raise and climb a ladder or unfurl and spray a hose.

It’s all exciting to watch and pleases crowd members, but it is dangerous. Despite strict safety regulations on equipment and practices, accidents and injuries do happen and workers’ compensation usually covers it.

On the team’s Facebook page, “Die Hard Hagenhood Cub Drill Team & Fans AKA Copenhagen Cubs Drill Team,” fans aren’t convinced this is really the end.

As for Chief Sheitz: even after the meeting, he still had no comment.

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©2018 Watertown Daily Times (Watertown, N.Y.)

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