5 Alarm BBQ

5 Alarm BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 30 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 43 at the NYC BBQ Cookoff (2017). They are ranked #1290 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “5-ALARM BBQ”.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,290

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1580

peak 1611 · rated over 30 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Sep 7, 2013

latest Jun 19, 2026 · 12.8 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#362

Backyard 2026 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

17% of 30 contests

Avg finish

top 43%

overall standings

Best overall

675.3028 / 720

Master · Jiggy With the Piggy

Perfect 180s

Current form

642.49 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 648.18 (-5.69)

Walk rate

53%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1428

Pork · Sun BBQ Fest

Consistency

±14.16

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 164.30 · weakest Pork Ribs (157.46)

Road miles

5,194

across 30 mapped stops · furthest 504 mi

Schedule strength

55%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1571)

Purse competed for

$24K

listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 4 state-championship entries

Master avg

648.18 / 720

27 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

311.45 / 360

2 Backyard contests · 0 GCs

Backyard (4-meat) avg

587.25 / 720

1 Backyard (4-meat) contest · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (4-meat) out of 720), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.

This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.

Storylines (10 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

High-water mark

675.3028 career-best overall

93.8% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 675.3028 at Jiggy With the Piggy — 93.8% of a perfect 720.

Master
May 4, 2018

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Mad Hatter BBQ has finished one call ahead of 5 Alarm BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2017 their best year

2017 was the year it came together: 6 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 31%.

6 contests
3 overall top-10s
1 category win
average top 31%

A tough matchup

13–4 behind in the head-to-head

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead in 76% of their meetings

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has come out ahead in 13 of their 17 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.8 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.84 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 13% of the time against 17%.

Pork Ribs avg 157.46
Chicken avg 164.30
4 calls in 30 entries

A strong matchup

9–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 90% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of QUEGASM in 9 of their 10 shared contests.

The comeback

4.4 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 4.4 years, then back at Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 1) (Sep 8, 2023).

last seen Apr 27, 2019
back Sep 8, 2023

Show 3 more storylines

Looking over their shoulder

3× one call behind them

Q HAVEN BBQ has landed one call behind them 3 times.

A June team

Top 26% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 26% across 6 contests, versus top 43% the rest of the year.

6 June contests
top 43% the rest of the year

The long haul

5,194 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,194 miles across 30 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 504 miles to Jiggy With the Piggy.

30 mapped stops
furthest 504 mi

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026 ↗	Backyard	#362 (59 pts)	#366 (59 pts)	#364 (59 pts)	—	—
2017 ↗	Master	#536 (726 pts)	#613 (651 pts)	#749 (536 pts)	#562 (706 pts)	#561 (701 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#809 (449 pts)	#667 (609 pts)	#932 (404 pts)	#605 (664 pts)	#871 (419 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#786 (440 pts)	#779 (475 pts)	#709 (535 pts)	#1195 (270 pts)	#688 (545 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1343 (205 pts)	#1395 (215 pts)	#1653 (150 pts)	#1111 (295 pts)	#1664 (150 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#1440 (156 pts)	#1612 (146 pts)	#1701 (136 pts)	#2028 (86 pts)	#1455 (166 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to 5 Alarm BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

49 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

BEAUX HAWG BBQ

#1,288 of the rated field

1580 power rating

Contests: 31
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 3%
Peak: 1592

Careers of much the same size, 31 contests to 30, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 31 contests
last seen Aug 28, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

303 BBQ

#1,280 of the rated field

1581 power rating

Contests: 33
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1581

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 32 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 32 contests
last seen Jun 16, 2023

⚔ Compare careers

OINK-A-DOODLE-MOO 1559

#1,293 of the rated field

1580 power rating

Contests: 28
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1587

28 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 21% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 28 contests
last seen Nov 5, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

GECKO BBQ

#1,284 of the rated field

1581 power rating

Contests: 30
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 57%
Peak: 1600

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before 5 Alarm BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 27 contests

⚔ Compare careers

WAY 2 QUE

#1,282 of the rated field

1581 power rating

Contests: 42
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1591

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 42 contests
last seen Mar 2, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

LIL' FIDDLER'S

#1,291 of the rated field

1580 power rating

Contests: 48
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1605

Level with 5 Alarm BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 47 contests
last seen Sep 7, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Chicken Chokers	17	9	8	53%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	17	4	13	24%	⚔ compare
SMOKOPOLIS BBQ	14	4	10	29%	⚔ compare
Dr. Pearl's Medicinal Smoke BBQ Team	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
RIBS WITHIN	11	6	5	55%	⚔ compare
BEERBEQUE	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
QUEGASM	10	9	1	90%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' TEX BBQ	10	9	1	90%	⚔ compare
MOON RIVER BARBEQUE	10	7	3	70%	⚔ compare
BLAZIN' BUTTZ BBQ	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
BRISKET BURNERS	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
Rogue Hog BBQ	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare
ACK-QUE	9	6	3	67%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	30	5	0	0	176	153.1200	164.30	top 46%
Pork Ribs	30	4	1	1	170.8572	137.0172	157.46	top 60%
Pork	28	5	2	2	177.1428	147.9200	161.62	top 47%
Brisket	28	7	0	0	172	141.0628	161.89	top 41%

“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.

By field size and state

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	2	top 105%
Medium (20–39)	9	top 42%
Large (40+)	19	top 38%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
NJ	8	top 40%
PA	6	top 37%
WV	3	top 75%
NY	3	top 39%
NC	3	top 50%
VA	2	top 46%
RI	2	top 58%
MD	1	top 16%
CT	1	top 17%
DE	1	top 29%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Red, White and Que	4	7	top 35%	Sep 30, 2017
Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 2)	2	12	top 105%	Sep 9, 2023
Que by the Sea	2	11	top 47%	Sep 22, 2018
NYC BBQ Cookoff	2	3	top 37%	Apr 6, 2018
BBQ Gives Back	2	23	top 46%	Mar 23, 2018
Que for the Troops	2	14	top 30%	Jun 2, 2017
Smoke in the Valley BBQ competition	2	19	top 49%	May 6, 2016

More numbers

Busiest season 2017 6 contests

Contests a season 3.3 across 9 seasons in the data

Most contests held in NJ 8 of 30 contests · 10 states in all

Contests visited 21 7 of them more than once

Opponents faced 607 finished ahead 835 times, behind 541

Longest layoff 4.4 yrs Apr 27, 2019 → Sep 8, 2023

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20261 milestone

Jun 19 Most recent contest Almost Heaven BBQ Bash (OPEN FORMAT)

20182 milestones

May 4 Career-best overall score675.3028 Jiggy With the Piggy
Jul 21 25th tracked contest Rotary Ribs and Rhythm & Blues

20172 milestones

Apr 7 First overall podium NYC BBQ Cookoff
Sep 30 Peak power rating (1611) Red, White and Que

20162 milestones

Apr 8 10th tracked contest Triple Threat BBQ, Beer and Music Festval
Jun 11 Career-best single call (Pork)177.1428 Sun BBQ Fest

20151 milestone

Sep 26 First category win (Pork Ribs) Red, White and Que

20134 milestones

Sep 7 First tracked contest Red, White and Que
Sep 7 First call Red, White and Que
Sep 7 First overall top-10 Red, White and Que
Sep 7 First overall past 90% of a perfect score649.6692 Red, White and Que

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+12.6	NYC BBQ Cookoff	Apr 7, 2017
+11.9	The Great Brunswick BBQ Throwdown	Mar 3, 2017
+11.7	Sun BBQ Fest	Jun 11, 2016
+10.4	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash (OPEN FORMAT)	Jun 19, 2026
+10.3	Que for the Troops	Jun 6, 2014

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.8	Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 1)	Sep 8, 2023
-12.9	Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 2)	Sep 9, 2023
-7.2	Que by the Sea	Sep 22, 2018
-6.6	NYC BBQ Cookoff	Apr 6, 2018
-5.1	Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down	Oct 13, 2017

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — tap a meat to add it)

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	1	1	0	0%	top 17%	81.6%	81.6%
2023	2	0	0	0%	top 105%	87.6%	86.5%
2019	1	0	0	0%	top 56%	89%	89%
2018	5	0	0	40%	top 51%	93.8%	89.5%
2017	6	3	1	83%	top 31%	92.9%	91.5%
2016	6	0	1	50%	top 35%	92.6%	90.6%
2015	4	0	1	75%	top 37%	92.2%	90.5%
2014	4	0	0	50%	top 49%	89.4%	87.4%
2013	1	1	0	100%	top 27%	90.2%	90.2%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 19, 2026	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash (OPEN FORMAT) 🏅 Buckhannon, WV	5 / 29 (587.2456)	32 (153.1200)	34 (143.9656)	33 (149.0972)	34 (141.0628)
Sep 9, 2023	Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 2) 🏅 Mannington, WV	12 / 11 (307.4400)	11 (159.4400)	12 (148)	—	—
Sep 8, 2023	Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 1) 🏅 Mannington, WV	12 / 12 (315.4516)	11 (161.1200)	12 (154.3316)	—	—
Apr 27, 2019	New Jersey KnoQ-out CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	24 / 43 (640.4572)	36 (158.2400)	35 (153.1088)	13 (166.8228)	21 (162.2856)
Sep 22, 2018	Que by the Sea Seaside Heights, NJ	29 / 43 (630.1488)	31 (157.6572)	10 (163.4172)	38 (151.3716)	21 (157.7028)
Jul 21, 2018	Rotary Ribs and Rhythm & Blues Auburn, NY	13 / 31 (642.7544)	15 (163.3712)	26 (150.8688)	12 (163.3944)	8 (165.1200)
May 4, 2018	Jiggy With the Piggy Kannapolis, NC	16 / 70 (675.3028)	44 (167.3828)	19 (168.5372)	19 (169.6800)	17 (169.7028)
Apr 6, 2018	NYC BBQ Cookoff Staten Island, NY	24 / 36 (623.8056)	21 (161.6800)	16 (158.8228)	33 (147.9200)	19 (155.3828)
Mar 23, 2018	BBQ Gives Back Urbanna, VA	42 / 75 (648.3888)	26 (167.9772)	41 (163.3944)	66 (153.0744)	34 (163.9428)
Oct 13, 2017	Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down Rocky Mount, NC	31 / 50 (649.4972)	8 (174.2628)	44 (150.7888)	37 (159.3600)	23 (165.0856)
Sep 30, 2017	Red, White and Que Cresskill, NJ	9 / 31 (658.7776)	15 (165.1544)	17 (161.6688)	20 (159.9544)	4 (172)
Jun 2, 2017	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	24 / 63 (650.7436)	41 (160.5144)	29 (161.1204)	29 (159.9544)	9 (169.1544)
Apr 7, 2017	NYC BBQ Cookoff Staten Island, NY	3 / 43 (667.8968)	16 (162.2284)	9 (165.1428)	1 (175.4172)	10 (165.1084)
Mar 24, 2017	BBQ Gives Back Urbanna, VA	23 / 64 (657.6572)	21 (170.2628)	39 (160.5600)	13 (168.5600)	36 (158.2744)
Mar 3, 2017	The Great Brunswick BBQ Throwdown Brunswick, MD	8 / 50 (669.0400)	9 (170.8456)	14 (165.6800)	17 (169.1316)	20 (163.3828)
Sep 24, 2016	Red White and Que Cresskill, NJ	13 / 41 (651.3028)	32 (153.6684)	12 (162.2628)	6 (167.9772)	11 (167.3944)
Jul 22, 2016	Rotary Club of Wakefield Rhode Island Kingston, RI	18 / 34 (649.0744)	19 (163.4172)	13 (164.5600)	8 (164.5600)	25 (156.5372)
Jun 11, 2016	Sun BBQ Fest Uncasville, CT	12 / 69 (666.7884)	4 (176)	61 (151.9772)	1 (177.1428)	34 (161.6684)
Jun 3, 2016	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	24 / 67 (640.4112)	12 (167.4172)	58 (151.3828)	16 (163.3828)	31 (158.2284)
May 6, 2016	Smoke in the Valley BBQ competition Greenlane, PA	19 / 47 (650.7200)	12 (169.1316)	34 (155.9772)	29 (159.3484)	15 (166.2628)
Apr 8, 2016	Triple Threat BBQ, Beer and Music Festval Harrington, DE	22 / 75 (654.2516)	27 (165.1200)	16 (167.4400)	56 (151.9544)	11 (169.7372)
Sep 26, 2015	Red, White and Que Cresskill, NJ	11 / 35 (643.3600)	12 (164.5372)	1 (170.8572)	20 (155.4172)	20 (152.5484)
Sep 19, 2015	Que by the Sea Seaside Heights, NJ	11 / 41 (649.5428)	13 (163.3944)	11 (162.8228)	25 (155.9312)	4 (167.3944)
Jul 17, 2015	Wakefield Rotary Campus Cook Off Kingston, RI	23 / 37 (650.2512)	13 (166.8456)	27 (160.5600)	25 (157.1200)	18 (165.7256)
Jun 5, 2015	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	15 / 54 (663.9312)	15 (167.9772)	36 (158.8112)	24 (166.8456)	8 (170.2972)
Oct 10, 2014	Eastern Carolina BBQ ThrowDown Rocky Mount, NC	35 / 53 (634.0456)	16 (167.9772)	51 (142.7772)	17 (166.2284)	36 (157.0628)
Sep 6, 2014	Red, White and Que Cresskill, NJ	16 / 31 (624.6404)	8 (164.5716)	25 (145.7144)	12 (158.3200)	11 (156.0344)
Jun 6, 2014	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	14 / 65 (643.8972)	12 (166.2972)	30 (155.9772)	15 (163.9772)	26 (157.6456)
May 9, 2014	Smoke in the Valley BBQ Competition Green Lane, PA	31 / 54 (614.6172)	25 (158.2628)	48 (137.0172)	8 (166.2400)	27 (153.0972)
Sep 7, 2013	Red, White and Que Cresskill, NJ	7 / 26 (649.6692)	8 (161.1088)	9 (166.2632)	18 (157.1200)	6 (165.1772)

5 Alarm BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Backyard (4-meat) avg

Storylines (10 found in their record)

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Looking over their shoulder

A June team

The long haul

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — tap a meat to add it)

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)