When sirens sound in a neighborhood at night, that usually is a cause for alarm, but once a year they are a sign that the South King Fire (SKF) Santa Parade has arrived.

Every holiday season for the past six years, SKF firefighters and a volunteer Santa Claus have wound their way through neighborhoods in Federal Way and Des Moines, picking up food donations along the way.

The parade typically consists of the community affairs retired rig, nicknamed “Pete,” covered in holiday lights, a vibrant sleigh built by a local Scouts of America troop that carries Santa and Mrs. Claus, and multiple other emergency vehicles and trucks to round it out.

When the parade sees a crowd of people or anyone with a bag of canned goods, they will stop to accept the donation and take time to offer photos with Santa. Neighbors often line the streets, dressing up, offering cookies and refreshments to the firefighters and volunteers and joining in the fun however they can.

This year the canned food donations have been bigger than ever. From their two Des Moines routes alone, they collected a new record of 1,600 pounds of donations for a Des Moines food bank.

This year the Grinch joined Santa for the parade, and found some lookalikes on the parade route! Courtesy photo.

In the Twin Lakes route in Federal Way, they collected over 2,000 pounds, another record. The Federal Way food donations will all go to the food bank at the Federal Way Senior Center, which is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and offers food for individuals and families in need. They are located at 4016 South 352nd Street in Auburn.

The heavy rain and winds brought by the atmospheric river forced SKF to cancel their Marine Hills and Alderbrook routes on Dec. 8 this year, but they were out the next day to continue spreading holiday cheer.

SKF had planned 12 routes over 15 days this year including neighborhoods in Des Moines, Federal Way and unincorporated King County, also known as East Federal Way.

The Santa Parade was dreamed up and led by Captain Brad Chaney who has led Community Affairs for SKF for years.

This will be Chaney’s last year in the role as he hands the responsibilities over to Eric Kiphart. Chaney will then transition to being back in the field, running calls out of Station 63.

Reflecting on the evolution effect of the Santa Parade over the years, Chaney told the Mirror he underestimated how big the impact would be on the community.

Santa handing out candy to kids on the Santa Parade route. Courtesy photo

The idea for the parade was born during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a way to bring holiday celebration to community members who couldn’t access their usual traditions for safety reasons, like a visit to Santa or other festivities.

SKF wanted to be able to “still connect with the community even during the most difficult time,” Chaney said.

While he knew he wanted to bring some joy to the community through the event, Chaney said he “didn’t understand how deeply of an impact that would have on our community members who were struggling, lonely, scared about the future, all the fears and all the concerns that everyone was sharing.”

Back then, the routes were planned out on paper maps with hand-drawn arrows. Today, community members can actually follow the live location of the parade online and they’ve seen participation increase.

As the pandemic-related restrictions waned, the parade has done the opposite and simply grown. While it is a special treat for kids, it has also become something meaningful for people of all ages and a catalyst for community-building.

“What started to dawn on me after about the fourth year…full grown adults are throwing parties at their house, collecting canned food from their friends, and sitting outside by a bonfire just to watch us come by, just to have a picture with Santa,” Chaney said.

He described the moment that the parade would come around a corner and how powerful it is to see a crowd of people celebrating together and knowing that the parade had a role in inspiring that.

“They’re connecting with their own community members in those moments, and we provided an avenue to help bring them together,” Chaney said, adding “that’s super heartwarming.”

Santa and Mrs. Claus love bringing joy to the communities around Federal Way and Des Moines. Courtesy photo.

This type of event and other community-building activities are important for both the community and for the firefighters themselves, Chaney said.

As a fire department that responds to over 27,000 calls a year, he said it can be easy for firefighters to have their only connection to the community become those 911 calls.

During the pandemic, Chaney said they wanted a way to say “Hey, we’re here with you no matter what.”

They wanted to show the community that not only can they call for help on their worst day but also that “we’re humans too, and we care, and we care deeply, and we love our community, and this is a way for us to show our community that that we do care about them and that we do love and support them.”

For the firefighters themselves, these type of events act as a balance to the constant tragedy that represents much of the rest of their time at work.

“We have limited resources. So the crews are stretched thin, and if we don’t nurture their spirit too, we could dwindle their flame. These events give them a chance to connect to the community in a completely different way that brings joy back into their life,” Chaney said.

“When it does that, not only does it make a positive impact on that firefighter, but it affects the overall culture and morale of the organization. That positivity is infectious,” he added.

To learn more about the Santa Parade and to see routes and live GPS tracking during the parade, visit https://www.southkingfire.org/300/Santa-Parade-and-Canned-Food-Drive