Volunteer firefighters from four Nassau towns are leaving behind their families and holiday barbecues to help flood victims upstate.

About 20 volunteers from Glen Cove, Levittown, Plainview and East Meadow are heading to Binghamton to aid one of the areas hit hardest by flooding last week. They will travel six hours each way and spend at least 24 hours on duty in the middle of the disaster zone.

The firefighters say the aid best symbolizes what the Fourth of July is all about. Nassau Fire Commissioner Andy DeMartin says founding father Benjamin Franklin was a volunteer firefighter and the trip upstate reflects the spirit of what makes America great.