Firefighting ornaments are available in a wide variety of subjects, materials, sizes and prices. Cloth Santas complete with helmet and hose, blown-glass and porcelain pumpers, wooden steamers and plaster Dalmatians are all easily found. Hydrants, helmets, stations and hose are there as well, as are cartoon character firefighters with familiar faces. Novelty light sets in the appropriate motif complete the tree.
No tree is complete without a ceramic village, and here too most such collections now contain a fire station as part of the offering. Size and price are varied, with selections ranging from small luminaries to large and intricate affairs. And if you are a purist and insist on a train beneath your tree, you'll have to check your local swap meets or garage sales the last set of firefighting trains I know of was manufactured 30 years ago.
Barry Furey, a Firehouse® correspondent, is executive director of the Knox County, TN, Emergency Communications District and longtime collector of fire-related ornaments. He is an ex-chief of the Valley Cottage, NY, Fire Department, ex-deputy chief of the Harvest, AL, Volunteer Fire Department and a former training officer for the Sevoy, IL, Fire Department.
