Gershow Recycling Donates the Use of 30 Cars for the 16th Annual Chuck Varese Vehicle Extrication Tournament

May 19, 2023 admin Business 0
Pictured (front row, left to right): Huntington Town Clerk Andrew Raia, Gershow’s Huntington Facility Manager Rich D’Angelo, Rebecca Beach and her father, 16th Annual Chuck Varese Vehicle Extrication Tournament Co-Coordinator and former Northport Fire Chief Robert “Beefy” Varese; Mr. Varese’s grandson William Varese; Northport Fire Department Rescue Squad Lieutenant Jeanne Varese, Mr. Varese’s wife and co-coordinator of the 16th Annual Chuck Varese Vehicle Extrication Tournament; Northport Village Mayor Donna Koch, Huntington Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman, Esq., and Northport Village Trustee Meghan Dolan. Back row (l-r) Northport Fire Chief Doug Pyne, Chief; Will and Jenny Varese, Mr. Varese’s son and daughter-in-law; Huntington Town Highway Superintendent Andre Sorrentino, Suffolk County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi, Gershow Vice President of Special Projects Steve Rossetti, and New York State Assemblyman Keith Brown. Third row: Northport Village Trustee Ernest Pucillo and Northport Deputy Mayor Joe Sabia.

Fire Departments Use Electric Tools to Cut up the Vehicles

Gershow Recycling donated the use of 30 cars for the 16th Annual Chuck Varese Vehicle Extrication Tournament, which was held at the Northport Fire Department’s Training Grounds at Steer’s Pit in Northport on May 13. Gershow also donated the use of its Huntington facility to enable teams to practice in the week leading up to the tournament.

Twenty-seven teams from fifteen fire departments participated in the tournament, which involved groups of five firefighters working to extricate a “victim” from a “crash” using the Jaws of Life. Once again, the firefighters used battery-powered tools during the extrication exercises; the Chuck Varese Vehicle Extrication Tournament was the first such tournament to bring in electric tools.

Each team was judged on the amount of time it took to perform the extrication, the handling of equipment and the safety procedures they followed. The top three teams were:

  • 1st Place — East Northport FD (6 minutes, 26 seconds)
  • 2nd Place — Northport FD (6 minutes, 50 seconds)
  • 3rd Place — Commack FD (8 minutes, 40 seconds)

The Ridge Fire Department had the fastest evolution time of the tournament at 3 minutes, 6 seconds.

After the tournament, the vehicles were brought back to Gershow’s facility, where they were shredded and recycled.