Christmas Eve 2016 will mark the 42nd annual Cinnaminson Fire Department Santa Run; a tradition enjoyed by all ages.
“It’s a really cool event that we give back to our community and it’s festive for everybody, especially the kids,” coordinator and Battalion Chief Harry Smith said. “The tough part is getting people together.”
The tradition dates back to 1974 and was started by a group of firefighters from Station 202 on Taylor’s Lane, long before both companies merged into a single entity.
“A group of us back in 1974 decided to put Santa on top of a truck, because they were designed that way then,” Chief William Kramer Jr., a member of that original group, said.
“We would light him up with a spotlight and drive him around town. There were four of us involved at first and then it grew from there.”
The original group, which also included Jim Dutton, Ed Hibbard and others, would stop at the homes of police and firefighters in town and would also visit children with disabilities.
“I don’t remember what year it was where we started accepting packages to be delivered,” Kramer said. “It was probably in the late 70’s.”
Kramer remembers one little girl in the 70’s who was waiting in the driveway for Santa to arrive.
“She was jumping up and down and wouldn’t stop. She was so excited when she saw Santa pull up on the fire truck. That was some 40 years ago and I still think of it to this day.”
In previous years the volunteers would collect gifts ahead of time, load them in fire police vehicles, and follow Santa around on the engine.
As the popularity of the Santa Run grew, the operation had to be tweaked.
The operation went from one Santa helper to four helpers on Christmas Eve.
With the additional helpers, more trucks have to be on the street, staffed with four firefighters each.
“What some people don’t realize is the commitment it takes from our members to pull this off each year,” Kramer said.
“We have some 20 members riding trucks with Santa’s helpers who are giving up time on their Christmas Eve to make it a special night for someone else.”
In recent years, the department stopped collecting gifts ahead of time and now asks parents/guardians to have gifts at the ready upon the arrival of the engine with Santa. All gifts must have the child’s name written on it clearly.
Smith has handled the duties coordinating the event for the last 20-plus years.
“I started doing it in 1994,” Smith said. “Over the years, I’ve been Santa four times. I took it over when I was a captain in the department.”
“Some of the problems we ran back into then, and still now, sometimes you just don’t have anybody to run it. If you look at it, you have a core out of the membership that runs things. It was always good for the kids and to see their faces, that’s what got me into it.”
The department has also had to put a limit on the number of stops it can make in one night at 150.
“If we had like 200 or something like that, we just wouldn’t be able to finish it,” Smith said. “We don’t have enough vehicles to put on the street to do that.”
The limit is due to the sheer popularity of the event and for the safety of all those involved.
“We looked at changing it over a couple of years ago. Originally we would carry all the gifts in our trucks,” Smith said.
“We had 35 or 50 stops per truck, a chase vehicle and an engine. Getting done really late was another issue. Sometimes we would get done at 11:30 and the kids were already in bed at that point.”
As of Wednesday night, there are still spots available on the Santa Run.
If you would like to sign up, visit Station 201 at 1725 Cinnaminson Avenue between the hours of 5-9pm seven days per week or Station 202 at 1900 Taylor’s Lane between the hours of 7-10pm.
“On the first day we had about 39 people sign up,” Smith said.
One thing to note; the department cannot guarantee that Santa will arrive.
The department and all of the engines on the street Christmas Eve are still ‘in service.’ This means that should a call come in, the crews working must respond.
Depending on the severity of the incident, the department might need to utilize all of its resources, which could lead to Santa not arriving.
“God forbid we get a call,” Smith said. “I know over the years we’ve had a couple of them. Normally when I’m out there I’m deciding who is going to take which call.”
The department is aiming to begin this year’s Santa Run at 3:30pm on Christmas Eve and plan to conclude around 9:30pm.
The department asks that someone be home during those hours because no appointments can be made. Due to the number of stops on the run, return trips cannot be made if no one is home.
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