Firefighters in Santa Barbara delivered and helped decorate 40 artificial holiday trees at the Cottage Hospital Children’s Medical Center Tuesday morning. 

The miniature trees were courtesy of the Santa Barbara County Firefighters Charity Fund and the gathering was a partnership with Just Imagine It, an organization that brightens the lives of children while they are admitted to the hospital.

The trees arrived at West Pueblo Street in an early-1900s fire engine, and about 20 firefighters adorned in red and white Santa hats gathered in the new children’s wing at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Firefighter Sam Dudley said the fire agency was glad for the opportunity to bring the holiday to kids who might have spend it in the hospital.

“We want to help these families out any way that we can,” Dudley said. “As firefighters, we take an oath and get a badge on our chest, and it’s our job to be here for the community. This is our way to do it when we aren’t at work.” 

Later in the morning, firefighters and children decorated the trees together. Small toys, stickers, miniature red plastic fire hats and other goodies were also handed out to the 15 or so children in the pediatric intensive and neonatal intensive care units, and their families and siblings.

Two trees were set up in Danayira Salinas niece’s room in the pediatric intensive care unit.

“My niece has been here for a few days,” said Salinas, a Santa Barbara native. “I take complete responsibility for her, and this year I didn’t have the funds for anything Christmas related, and my goal was to get a tree… I wasn’t able to get one.

“To see this was going on today hit me because it’s something I wasn’t able to provide,” Salinas continued. “I feel thankful.” 

Wearing Santa Claus hats, firefighters deliver gifts and small trees to children and families at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Tuesday.  (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo)

There were smiles on not only the patients' faces, but the parents too. 

“We are supporting and surrounding them with love and the genuine spirit of giving,” said Jaynie Wood, a certified child life specialist at Cottage Children’s Medical Center. “We want it to be a moment in time where families are simply stopping and celebrate being together. 

“It’s a time to be a part of something that can be as normal as we can make it, as special as we can make it, and to just know that everybody here cares,” she said. 

Wood thanked the firefighters for their support.

“For me, being here 26 years, this has been an outpouring of absolute, unimaginable giving after a year of such tragedy last year,” she said. “The firefighters — out of everyone — came forward, and wanting to give is unbelievable.”

— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.