‘Survivor’s’ firefighter a favorite to win

It’s down to the final four on CBS’ “Survivor: Palau,” which concludes Sunday. If you ask the long-gone castaways who now make up the show’s jury, it seems muscled, gray-haired New York firefighter Tom Westman has established himself as the clear front-runner.

“He seems so sincere,” said Stephenie LaGrossa upon her ousting from the game. “He seems like he’s looking out for your best interest. Really, he’s just playing the game awesome.”

“Tom positioned himself as leader when we were two tribes,” said Caryn Groedel, the most recently eliminated contestant. “He kept his leader status when we were one tribe. He was just a good player.”

Westman, 41, a Brooklyn firefighter and father of three, lives in Sayville, N.Y. He’s made no secret of his prowess, winning three out of five individual immunity challenges and leading the Koror tribe to demolish the Ulongs in every immunity challenge -- a “Survivor” first.

Westman, Ian Rosenberger, Katie Gallagher and Jennifer Lyon will duke it out as the final four contestants, with the winner claiming the $1-million prize.