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Dunklin Fire expresses thanks to the community for successful Holiday Season

(Post Date 12-29-2007)

The Dunklin Fire Protection District has reason to celebrate this Holiday Season.

Our Fire District sponsored the first annual “Rescue Santa from the Roof” Toys for Tots Kick-Off Day on November 23 2007. We put this idea together in a hurry so we could collect toys to benefit area children who may not have otherwise been able to celebrate Christmas Day with a gift.

This was our first year participating in this toy drive, and we simply can not believe the turn out we had. The community supported us 100% in this years toy drive. We reached our goal on November 23rd by receiving enough toy donations to fill a fire truck cab, then Santa was allowed to come down from the rooftop.

All the toys collected stayed in Jefferson County. The toy drive ran through December 10th 2007, and collected over 500 toys. We will definitely be doing this again next year, perhaps with a little more notice and planning. We thank the citizens and business’ who gave so generously on the kick-off day and throughout the toy drive.

Another thing the Fire District is grateful for is the amount of Non-Perishable Food Items dropped off to benefit the Jefferson County Rescue Mission in Pevely. Citizens and Business’ alike all pitched in and were able to make the food drive very successful. We received a lot of food, which is appropriate for the holiday season which the Rescue Mission was pleading for. This was a tremendous help. Along with food, we received donations of blankets and clothing. Again, on behalf of the Dunklin Firefighters we extend our thanks to those who made this possible.

Our Second Annual Photograph with Santa Community Day on Saturday December 22, 2007 was also a very busy day around the Fire House. Even though we had to cancel the originally scheduled December 15th day, due to the heavy snow storm that blanketed the area, the turn out was tremendous. We had over 100 visitors stop in to have their photographs taken with Santa. This was the second year we hosted this event, and was certainly a fun day. Thanks for stopping by, and we will see you all again next year!

We hope you all have a great Christmas and New Years Season with your families. Please celebrate responsible and safely. If you plan to party, we ask that you please find a designated driver. Far too often our Firefighters respond to vehicle crashes involving intoxicated drivers and see unfortunate ending to one’s holiday season. Please wear your seatbelts, again we can not express it enough that these safety devices do save lives. Winter driving and preparation tips may be reviewed at the National Safety Council’s website:

http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/winter.htm

Dunklin Fire Protection District - We Are, YOUR Fire District

Story By Captain Dustin Blake
D.F.P.D. Public Information / Relations Officer