Firefighters for Families campaign sees good turnout, according to Pitt Meadows Fire & Rescue

Firefighters could be seen in full force all around Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows last weekend as they participated in the annual Firefighters for Families fundraising campaign.

This is a yearly tradition that goes back 20 years, with all of the donations going toward the Friends in Need Food Bank and the Christmas Hamper Society.

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While the grand total of donations remains a secret until the cheque presentation at the CP Holiday Train on Dec. 17, firefighter Murray, who was stationed at the Meadowtown Tim Hortons, explained that they were seeing a pretty positive response from the community.

“It’s my first year doing it, but people have been very charitable,” said Murray.

“Someone dropped off all those presents that they’d been collecting for three weeks,” he explained as he pointed to a pile of more than a dozen toys.

The firefighters stationed at the Pitt Meadows Superstore reported similar feedback, saying that they were one of the busiest locations in the city, with people donating enough toys to fill an RCMP cruiser and still have a folding table stacked with additional toys.

Having the RCMP involved was a first for this fundraising campaign, with several officers attending the Superstore location in Pitt Meadows and the Save-On-Foods location in Maple Ridge to jam as many presents as possible into their cruisers as part of their Cram the Cruiser event.

Thank you to everyone that stopped by to donate food and Cram the Cruiser this weekend and support @iaff4810 boot drive. All the donations will be going to the @FINfoodbank the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Christmas Hamper Society! pic.twitter.com/B0C9KlTkDk

— Ridge Meadows RCMP (@RidgeRCMP) December 13, 2022

The donation cheques will be presented on Saturday, Dec. 17 at the CP Holiday Train, which will arrive in Maple Ridge at 7:50 p.m. and Pitt Meadows at 8:55 p.m.

VIDEO: CP Holiday Train on-track to visit Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows this December