Tuesday morning was crunch time for hundreds of active and retired Montreal firefighters, who have been working and preparing Christmas baskets for about 1,200 families in need.
“Men and women of the Montreal fire department, you join the fire department because you want to help people,” said Chris Ross, president of the Montreal firefighters’ association. “This is just the natural extension of helping people, and it allows us to help people above and beyond the call of duty.”
Around 2,400 firefighters took part in the Christmas campaign, which is marking its 36th edition this year.
They’re joined by another 200 or so retired firefighters and volunteers, who prepare food baskets for families and deliver toys to children in need, which the firefighters’ association says is bigger than ever this year.
“My phone has been vibrating on a daily basis,” Ross said. “People write on Facebook to the firefighters’ association, saying, ‘I just saw it on the news. Is it too late? Can you help me?'”
“They all have a really heartwarming and heart wrenching story. So I think the need is there. It’s very hard to meet that need and we try our best every year to help as many people as we can.”
In the spirt of giving, firefighters loaded up the trucks to set out to personally deliver some cheer.
They brought boxes of food to Montreal families, along with some brand new toys.
It goes a long way for the Sagastegue family, who has seven children.
“It feels good,” says Rosa Sagastegue, a Montreal resident. “Especially now that food is so expensive. This will help.”