Santa Claus is Coming to Town (on a Lower Providence Fire Truck)

The much-anticipated Lower Providence Santa Run will take place on Saturday, Dec. 15.

According to Jackie Rittenhouse, president of the Lower Providence Fire Department, the Santa Run will begin during the early morning hours, and is expected to last until every neighborhood of the township gets a visit from Santa.

“Santa and his firefighter friends try really hard to get to all 22,000 residents in the 14-square-mile area,” Rittenhouse said in an e-mail.

She said that the Santa Run is often difficult to coordinate, as the township’s fire department is comprised of an all-volunteer membership, with each member having different schedules throughout the day. But, she said that the annual tradition is an important one in the township.

“It’s a lot of fun and mostly very cold when we do it,” Rittenhouse said.

She added that while the township’s volunteer firefighters will be happy to pull extra ‘Santa’s Helpers’ duty, they will also be vigilant for any emergency calls, which may make it difficult to reach all the township residents.

According to the Lower Providence Fire Department website, residents should listen for the distant fire truck sirens coming closer to their neighborhoods, in order to be ready to see Santa.

Residents may come out of their homes to greet Santa and receive candy canes and give him a copy of their family’s Christmas list.

Residents will also have the opportunity to give the firefighters canned goods and non-perishable food items for less fortunate township families in the Lower Providence Caring and Sharing Program.

Those interested in donating such goods are asked to place them in a bag and either hand them directly to a firefighter or leave them at the curb of their residence.

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For more information about the Caring and Sharing program, please click here.

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