Long Island firefighters eat thousands of clams for charity

Firefighters descended upon Peter’s Clam Bar in Island Park on July 16 to try and break the world record for the most clams eaten in the shortest amount of time. The best eaters from the Island Park, Long Beach, Lakeview, Baldwin, Point Lookout and East Rockaway firehouses competed against the 2010 record set by Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas: 26 dozen - or 312 – clams in 6 minutes.

The contestants were coached by Nathan’s hot dog eating champion and holder of eight Guinness world records, Takeru Kobayashi. Kobayashi takes a hands-on approach, and isn’t afraid to get down and dirty with a dozen or five of the tasty shellfish.

Ed “Cookie” Jarvis was also there. According to MajorLeagueEating.com, Jarvis holds more competitive eating titles than anyone in the world.

The event was organized by Island Park volunteer firefighter and Town of Hempstead Councilman Anthony D’Esposito, and Peters Clam Bar owner Butch Yamali. All proceeds went to the Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warrior, which provides needed items and gifts of appreciation to the wounded men and women of our armed services.