Santa’S Right-Hand Man Post Falls Firefighters Distribute Holiday Treats To Children

Capt. Tom Barrett’s been a firefighter for 20 years. He knows how to deal with a crisis.

So when a half-costumed Santa exclaimed, “There’s no bellies!” - he was falling well short of that bowl-full-of-jelly look - Barrett knew what to do.

“There’s pillows. You need to go downstairs to the storeroom,” he replied Saturday morning. “Or, you could be a skinny Santa. One of the two.”

With a voice that was half auctioneer, half airtraffic controller, Barrett commanded a battalion of firefighters and helpers in the Candy Cane Run. Coordinating the annual event is one of many ways he’s contributed to the Post Falls Fire Department during his 20 years as a volunteer.

“He’s real active, he still goes in and fights fires,” firefighter Bryan Williams said. “The guy runs around like a new recruit, pretty much.”

Paid crew members such as Williams joined volunteers at Fire Station No. 1 to pay tribute to Barrett. To do so, they had to pull him away from skillets of sizzling sausage and eggs. “Probably 10 years ago I started doing the breakfast thing, because participation in the Candy Cane Run was starting to drop,” he said after relinquishing the spatula to give an interview.

The project takes 25 to 30 people. A driver, a Santa and three helpers hopped into each of five firetrucks and fanned out across the district. A rescue truck was also dispatched. In each neighborhood, a Santa walked the streets and handed out some of the 3,456 candy canes.

“You’ll see kids come out the door barefoot and in T-shirts,” said Barrett, remembering the times he played Santa. “The grandmas, the little old ladies stand out at the curb waiting. They’ll just clamp on and give you a great big hug.”

Barrett stays at the station now during the five-hour run, fielding calls from people who want to know when the guy in the red clothes is going to reach their neighborhood.

Sometimes, Santa doesn’t make it.

“Last year we had an actual structure fire in the morning,” Barrett said, so the firefighters headed off to do their job. Some of them resumed Santa duties the next day.

The Candy Cane Run is a chance for firefighters to thank the community for its support. It’s been going on since well before Barrett joined the department. It was held on Christmas Day until 12 to 15 years ago, when firefighters’ families began objecting to the time it took on the holiday. The date was changed to the Saturday before Christmas - or, in this case, to the Saturday before the holiday weekend.

It’s getting harder to reach every neighborhood in the fast-growing city on a single day. Barrett envisions the tradition changing. His idea is to spread the goodwill over multiple evenings. He’d also like to combine the Candy Cane Run with the department’s annual Needy Family Program. Santa’s trucks could be roving collection points for donations of food.

Among this year’s first-time volunteers were Barrett’s sons, 16-year-old Thomas Jr. and 14-year-old Robert. The boys are interested in joining the fire department’s Explorer Post after becoming Eagle Scouts, Barrett said. He’s assistant scoutmaster for their Boy Scout Troop 13.

Barrett, who makes his living doing electrical repairs on trucks, puts in about nine hours a week for the fire department. Being a volunteer firefighter requires an understanding family, he said. His wife, Dorothea, has been known to joke about making appointments to see him.

Barrett has never pulled anyone from a burning building, never had to grieve for a Post Falls firefighter who died in the line of duty. “Knock on wood,” he said on both points.

“Some of the most memorable fires were when I was out of town,” he said with a smile. It’s happened often enough that his fellow firefighters have told him not to travel.

Post Falls volunteer firefighters get 240 hours of training and put in three six-hour shifts each month. They’re on call 10 days per month.

What keeps them at it? In Barrett’s case, it’s “the friendship, the challenges, and being able to do something for the community.”

Post Falls got its first paid firefighters in 1993. There are now seven of them, not counting administrators, and 40 volunteers. Barrett doesn’t see the city outgrowing its need for unpaid helpers.

“It would be a very expensive change for this department to go full-time,” he said.

Barrett, 46, plans to help out “as long as they let me.”