Christmas Fire Departments
Foto: Horst Reinelt
Homeowners are not the only ones decorating their houses with lights during Christmas time, but numerous fire departments also use the holiday season to make their houses and vehicles a little more “Christmassy.” This is not only a nice treat for the neighbors and firefighters, but also a good model for publicity.
The 20-meter Christmas tree of the VFD Sendling in all its glory (Picture: Horst Reinelt)
Okay guys, things are getting serious. It’s almost Christmas, and even firefighters are gradually starting to slow things down. But many fire departments have been sporting Christmas decorations for several weeks now. Even if this doesn’t really have anything to do with our main task, it’s oftentimes nice to look at, and it can also be used for publicity. Some examples: the Sendling division of the Munich VFD with their huge decorated Christmas tree that stands in their courtyard. The full-time buddies have also set up a pretty Christmas tree at the Marienplatz in Munich.
Ready for Santa Clause: the fire station in Puchheim (Picture: Puchheim Fire Department)
It’s certainly debatable whether or not this is a task for a fire department, but if you do it in a public relations context, it can leave a positive impression on the population, particularly when it represents a striking enrichment of a district, as was the case in Sendling. The Puchheim Fire Department in Austria has also lent some Christmassy flair to their fire station.
The whole thing is still increasable, of course. When it comes to US vehicles, it’s not always easy to tell whether all the lights and flashing are there all year round or were enhanced because it’s Christmas, 
but the following video shows that it’s certainly possible to turn your fire truck into something awesome.
Fire truck lights! from 10jopi on Vimeo.
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of us a merry Christmas and a hopefully peaceful time. And to all the buddies who spend their time at the station, either full-time or part-time: hope you enjoy yourselves, despite being away from your families.
And in closing, my standard question : What about you? Are your fire station or individual fire trucks covered in Christmassy decorations? If yes, I’d really love to see your pictures (at least 800 x 600 pixels), and I look forward to publishing them here with a link to your fire department. Just send an e-mail to mail@feuerwehrleben.de.
Here are your pictures
Meitzendorf VFD
The Meitzendorf VFD’s lit-up fire station.
Tags: christmas, fire station
