DETROIT (WWJ) -- Competing for bragging rights -- and a good cause -- members of the Detroit Police Department went up against the Detroit and Windsor fire departments Thursday afternoon in the 9th Annual American Coney Island Coney Eating Contest.
The Detroit Fire Department came away with their third straight team title at American Coney Island on Lafayette downtown Detroit.
One Detroit firefighter says defending their crown wasn't an easy task, so they had to show up and give it their best shot.
"I tried to get the team pumped up. It's a bunch of younger guys," he told WWJ's Stephanie Davis. "Tell them that we've got a title to defend and you've got to step it up."
In the individual contest, Joel Hansen of Hamilton, Ontario, scarfed down a whopping 30 Coney dogs. Not only was it his first time ever competing in the contest, the Canadian says it was the first time he had ever tried the Detroit delicacy.
The competition is for a good cause, with all the money raised going to the Detroit Police Benefit and Protective Association and the Detroit Firemen's Benevolent Fund.