New London, Minn., Fire Department has 'hot' contestants in 'Ms. Inferno Beauty Contest'

NEW LONDON -- No doubt New London's firefighters get hot when they're on the job battling blazes.

But eight of the town's firefighters will show exactly how hot they can be Friday night when they compete in the "Ms. Inferno Beauty Contest" at the New London-Spicer High School gym.

Appearing under the names Honey Hotlips, Fancy Flames, Carmon Dioxide, Miss Mayhem, Amanda Huggankiss, Sylvia Sizzles, Ms. Buddy Wiser and Anita Waxen, the firefighters will compete in an evening gown competition, display the finer points of their personalities and perform a four-minute dance routine, including choreography to the Lady Gaga song, "Born This Way."

The event, which is being held in conjunction with New London Waterdays, is sponsored by the Little Crow Players in an effort to raise money to purchase fire-retardant curtains for the Little Theatre stage, which is home to the NLS theater department and the community theater.

"It's been a long time since New London has had a queen pageant in conjunction with Waterdays and we want to bring it back with a slight twist," said Ginny Lief, president of the Little Crow Players.

"The evening will have all the pageantry of a Miss America contest with one exception, the contestants will be New London's volunteer firemen."

The evening's entertainment will center on a fire theme, with "Jerry Lee Lewis" performing "Great Balls of Fire." The theme will continue with female performers in male costumes.

Rounding out the entertainment will be "Elvis" performing "A Hunk of Burning Love" and "She's A Devil in Disguise."

The event will culminate when four distinguished judges pick the first "Ms. Inferno," who will be crowned by New London's Fire Chief, Sig Holme.

"These guys are fantastic," said Lief, adding that they've been meeting for a couple weeks to practice the dance routine.

"They're just the coolest guys and they're having a great time with it," she said. "They have been serving the community for years and this is just another way they're serving the community."

The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the NLS gym. Advanced tickets are available at Lake Region Bank and United Minnesota Bank in New London. Advanced price is two adults for $15; children 12 and under $5.

The Little Crow Players group hopes to raise $2,000 for the theater.