The Orange Volunteer Fire Department helped Santa deliver gifts throughout town in advance of Christmas. Photo by Doug Fenichel.
By Doug Fenichel
Santa arrived in Orange this year on a fire truck, delivering gifts to a record number of children in town.
“Santa’s Helper” has become a townwide tradition and big fundraiser for the all-volunteer fire department. This year, there were seven Santas helping out, each one on a fire truck with a crew. The teams delivered gifts to 758 children in 229 homes.
“It’s a record year,” said Jillian Gagel, president of the Orange Fire Department Auxiliary and organizer of the event. “All this in one small town.”
This was the 30th year firefighters have helped Santa. Gagel is the third person who has orchestrated the event, but as it has grown, she has had to make changes. For one thing, registration is now done online, and computers help organize and route the trucks. Planning for the 2026 holiday season is already under way.
For firefighters, it’s a great teambuilding opportunity, a time to have some fun and an opportunity to meet and talk with residents when there’s no emergency going on, said Fire Chief Vaughan Dumas.