Thrusting the wings into their mouths, the fast eaters seemed oblivious to the Buffalo sauce that smeared onto their faces. When they were done, another table of firefighters began racing to the bottom of their bucket of 24 wings.
Sundown's general manager, Thomas Ascenzi, said he got the idea because police and firefighters frequent the bar and restaurant when they are off duty. Knowing the rivalry that traditionally exists between the two, Ascenzi said he wanted a fun way for the forces to compete.
"Obviously you can't have a shot-drinking contest," said Bob Delia, who handles promotions at Sundown.
"This seems like a happy medium," Ascenzi said.
Donations from participants and proceeds from raffle ticket sales and the cost of the buffet for observers will go to benefit the charity.
Ascenzi said Sundown bought three cases, or about 400 wings, just for the contest and buffet. The bar and restaurant usually goes through five cases in a week.
While there were more firefighters than seats for them at the eating contest, the police contingent was smaller and had to be buoyed by the addition of "extras," including a few firefighters who helped them out.
The first table of police officers to eat their wings started off slow, although the stronger eaters seemed to be grouped toward the end of the eating order.
As the participants ate, some struggled to pull the meat from the bones and digest their food.
"It's not that easy to eat a wing fast -- I'm telling you," said Ascenzi, who is originally from upstate New York, the birthplace of Buffalo wings.
At the end, the police prevailed, although some firefighters grumbled that they had one extra table of wings to go through than the other side.
"I didn't feel like we were slow," said Richard Salvatore, 40, a Glenville volunteer firefighter who works for the gas company. "We can eat -- I tried."
The police side was down a few people, so Chris Griffin, 30, an officer who works the midnight shift, finished eating at one table and had to go to another one for a second serving.
He said the hardest point was alternating between eating and drinking.
"You get a little bloated," Griffin said.
