For more than 50 years, Oakley's paid on-call and volunteer firefighters drove Santa through neighborhoods on fire engines, delivering candy canes and oranges to residents. The popular community event was canceled last holiday season because of growth, apathy and liability issues.
The event's absence came after the consolidation of several local fire districts into the East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District in 2002 and some people saw it as a sign that the small-town character of the former community fire districts was gone forever. Sensing the community's disappointment, the Oakley Firefighters Association decided to revive the unique tradition.
On Dec. 17, the firefighters will go to retirement communities to visit with local seniors. On Dec. 18, more than 20 firefighters will travel around the city in up to six fire engines to deliver up to 9,000 oranges and the same amount of candy canes to children gathered in the streets.
According to firefighter Art DeLeon, the key to effectively portraying Santa Claus is being energetic, dancing around and saying "ho, ho, ho" often.
This will be the ninth year that the Oakley firefighter will get to ride through the city on a local fire engine to bring holiday cheer to boys and girls of all ages.
"They are excited, so you have to be excited," said DeLeon, the association's president. "I think people plan their parties in the community around the event. Sometimes, a house full of people will come out to meet Santa. Everyone comes out from grandmas to newborns. It makes their day."
To ensure the safety of local children, Freedom High School students will volunteer their time as elves this year. When they hear the fire sirens in their neighborhoods, children often rush out into the streets and it becomes a safety issue, DeLeon said.
With the city's continued growth, it takes the firefighters from sunrise to sunset to cover all of the neighborhoods. One of the original purposes of the Christmas Run was to allow firefighters to familiarize themselves with various streets and that is even more important today with so many new streets.
"The Christmas Run was to teach firefighters the layout of neighborhoods and how to get in and out of these streets," DeLeon said.
Each engine is assigned a different route, according to firefighter Steve Nevarez.
Part of the event is a raffle for a 36-inch color TV and 10 $25 gift certificates from area merchants. All proceeds from the raffle will be returned to the community and an upcoming mailer will notify residents about the event and how to purchase raffle tickets.
"It is coming together. It is a lot of work. Oakley has grown so much since they first started this," Nevarez said. "The gratification is seeing that tradition carry on, which is happy kids coming out to see Santa."
