Mid-Mon Valley firefighters trade boots, helmets for the big red suit
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
Santa Claus and Peyton Wareham of Monongahela get a photo taken by aunt Davine Behanna after they chased down Santa’s fire truck on Tuesday night.
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
The New Eagle Volunteer Fire Department drove through New Eagle with Santa Claus to hand out gift bags to kids.
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
Santa Claus talks to Victoria Reichel, 6, after stopping in front of her house in New Eagle as her father, Charles, and grandfather, Paul, look on from below.
Valley Inn Fire Chief Dale Knight was handing out treats with his fellow firefighters to children in the community one Christmas season when a young boy asked him for a pair of gloves.
Knight sought out a pair of gloves for the boy and later placed them in his mailbox.
For one night out of the year, Mid-Mon Valley firefighters in various communities trade in their boots, helmet and jackets for the red suit to play Santa for their children. For volunteer firefighters, this holiday tradition is a way of giving back to the community.
“We would hear the siren, and we would run to the end of the drive,” Knight’s daughter Dorothea Pemberton said. “I can’t tell you how nostalgic that was and the memories it brings back.”
Fire Chief Rob Greenlee said because of the size of its coverage area, the Carroll Township Volunteer Fire Department spends two days passing out treat bags. It’s a 60-year tradition for the department, regardless of the weather conditions.
“There are people who used to live in Carroll who come back because they remember,” Greenlee said. “Now, grandparents have their grandchildren come over for it.”
Mel Marinkovich, president of the Carroll Township fire company, said every firefighter in the department has taken a turn playing the role.
“The little kids, like 4 , 5 , 6 years old, it warms your heart up to see them,” Marinkovich said. “It’s cold on top of the truck, but the heat is in the smiles of the kids.”
Pemberton’s husband, Les, took on the role of Santa when he joined the New Eagle Volunteer Fire Department more than a decade ago.
Le Pemberton initially began playing the role years before that when the Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce was stuck for someone to don the red suit.
“I said, ‘Don’t worry, we’re having Santa,” he said. “And I’ve done it ever since. It’s enjoyable just to see how excited they are when they see Santa Claus.”
Over the years, there have been many stories that have stuck with him.
“I had a little girl make her mother go to McDonald’s and buy Santa Claus a hot chocolate,” Les Pemberton said.
Pemberton was aboard a fire truck when the New Eagle company handed out treat bags containing coloring books, crayons, oranges, apples, and small toys to children throughout the community last night.
“This is the fire department’s way to give something back,” Les Pemberton said. “The kids come running when they hear the siren. When they hear the siren, they are on their porches or the sidewalk.”
From atop the fire truck, Pemberton wishes the children “Merry Christmas” while his fellow firefighters hand out treat bags.
“When I’m down at Santa’s House (in Monongahela), it’s one on one,” Les Pemberton said. “If no one else is there, we’ll chat away.”
If there is an alarm in any of the communities, Santa Claus has to answer the alarm, Les Pemberton said.
“I’ve never had the experience, but the guy before me, John Grossi, had to go a structure fire in the suit,” Les Pemberton said.
New Eagle Chief Paul Pro said this is the 20th year for the tradition in his community. He said Grossi, a former New Eagle firefighter, first proposed the idea.
“We use to do it for just the kids in fire department and we decided to do it for all of the kids in the borough,” said Pro. “Kids look for it. People will call and ask when is Santa coming around.”
Mixing duty and holiday spirit, the special night in New Eagle is aligned with the last Tuesday before Christmas because Tuesday is drill day for the firefighters.
Pemberton said the best part of the role is getting into the Christmas spirit.
The worst might be the beard, he said.
“Sometimes kids, like infants, grab hold of it,” Les Pemberton said with a smile. “I just go with the flow.”
Valley Inn firefighters will hand out treats beginning at 6 tonight, Chief John Curcio Jr. said. Four firefighters don red suits so they can cover the whole community in one night, he said.
“When you join the fire department, one of the first jobs is to play Santa,” Curcio said. “Whether big or skinny, male or female, you play the role.”
And the reason why the firefighters do it is simple, Pemberton said.
“We want to give back to the residents who help us out. They donate to us and we try to give back,” Pemberton said.