Hundreds watched Sunday afternoon as firefighters rescued Santa Claus from the roof of the New York City Fire Museum in Hudson Square.
The family event looked to kick off the holiday season with excited cheers as children and adults alike gathered outside of 278 Spring Street to witness the dramatic rescue. Old Saint Nick leaned over the roof and waved to the young, excited onlookers below.
Firefighters extended their truck’s ladder and were able to slowly lower the jolly elf back down to ground level, much to the delight and applause from spectators. With his boots on the ground, Santa was rushed by young boys and girls with lengthy holiday and Christmas gift lists.
The event was held by the New York City Fire Museum and marked the return of the Santa rescue that was performed annually until the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the deadly virus, the heroic feat was put on hiatus until 2022 where it now has made its triumphant return.
“We’re so excited to bring it back this year for the community. It’s a great, fun family event. We’ve slowly been welcoming more people back to the museum’s school groups and just general visitors, but it’s really great to have a big family event again like this since we haven’t had it for three years,” Executive Director of the New York City Fire Museum Jennifer Brown told amNewYork Metro.
After Kris Kringle was saved, families lined up to meet the man in red and take group snapshots. Children also donned plastic firefighter helmets and met Hot Dog, the official safety mascot of the FDNY.
Sawn Presley and her family decided to both support the FDNY and surprise their three-year-old daughter, Sloan, with an eventful visit with Santa Claus.
“It was an absolutely incredible experience with the kiddos being able to look up, see Santa, and question why he was on the roof,” Presley said laughing. “To support the firefighters of the city is you know, it’s a great cause.”
For Andrea Fallon, it was more about surprising her two children. After learning about the experience from Time Out Magazine, Fallon decided to simply tell her children they were going to visit jolly old St. Nick but left the exhilarating firefighter rescue as a complete mystery.
“It was pretty great! We told them that they were gonna come see Santa, but the rescue was a surprise,” Andrea Fallon said with her husband Jonathan, and two children, George, 6, and Elanor, 2.
