Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Co. to drive Santa Claus through the city

When Santa Claus visits Lower Burrell, you won’t see him in a sleigh. Lit by a constellation of holiday lights, Santa will ride through more than 40 city streets pulled by the Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 on Dec. 7 and 8.

Dubbed as “Santa Claus Comes to Lower Burrell,” this mobile Santa display is the second time the fire company has brought Santa directly to the community. Last year’s inaugural run was so successful with hundreds of children venturing outside to see the man in red that the fire company decided to make it bigger this year.

Crowd restrictions prohibited traditional meet-and-greets with Santa everywhere last year.

“Last year we did it the first time to spread some good cheer because we needed it during the pandemic,” said Assistant Chief Brennan Sites. “The kids loved it, and we decided to make it an annual tradition to spread some Christmas cheer.”

Because the fire company couldn’t reach all of the neighborhoods last year, they extended Santa’s ride to two evenings this year.

The Lower Burrell No. 3 fire company covers 90% of the city, with Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 covering the Kinloch area.

Fire company No. 3 will post its route on its Facebook page and broadcast Santa’s trip live on Facebook so residents will better know when he is in their neighborhood, Sites said.

The fire company encourages residents to take photos and videos and tag them on Facebook to share with the rest of the city. Santa and his trailer will be escorted by Lower Burrell police in a procession of upwards of 10 vehicles, including the fire company’s vehicles.

“Santa will be moving slow enough in the neighborhoods to talk to children as he drives by,” Sites said.

Councilman Chris Fabry said he is excited that Lower Burrell No. 3 is bringing back Santa through the City.

“The sense of community created by events like this is so important for Lower Burrell,” he said. “We need to have as many positive events as possible for our residents and especially the children. I hope this tradition is continued every year from here on out.”

The popularity of Santa riding through the city pulled by a fire company squad vehicle is a product of the pandemic when the fire company was looking for ways to connect with the public in a pandemic-safe way, Sites said.

The food truck rallies over the last two summers were another way to meet with the public and raise money.

“Those events are one of the positives that came out of covid-19,” Sites said.