GRATIS — Christmas should be a time of joy for children everywhere. The Gratis Fire Department made this its mission once again with the second annual Gratis Santa Run.
The Santa Run is an annual event presented by the Gratis Fire Department. In this all-day event, every apparatus in the GFD fleet escorts Santa Claus in his special sleigh to bring Christmas cheer to the community. Santa’s company makes several stops to allow children to visit with Santa Claus and receive a Christmas surprise. Santa travels in his fire truck convoy throughout the GFD’s territory, which includes Gratis Township and the villages of Gratis and West Elkton.
New in 2018, is a member-funded and built Santa trailer, wittily dubbed “SC-18.” Numerous hours of volunteer time by GFD members has been dedicated to this event both building the trailer and preparing for the event, in addition to putting forth the actual event.
This year’s GFD Santa Run took place on Saturday, Dec. 22. The convoy took off at 10 a.m. on Preble County Line Rd. Several Facebook updates were made in live time to let the community know where Santa was headed next on his route. Santa was also escorted with lights and sirens, so he was easily heard before he arrived.
The Gratis Fire Department was accompanied by Gratis EMS Department and West Elkton Fire Department along the route.
