Santa visits Prisma Children’s Hospital on Christmas Eve, thanks to some local firefighters

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — On Tuesday night, Santa will visit boys and girls around the world. But before he slides down their chimneys, he made one special stop to the Prisma Health Children’s Hospital Midlands.

For nine years, the Columbia Fire Department has brought Santa on Christmas Eve to say hi to the kids that won’t be home for Christmas. Santa waves to them outside the hospital windows, thanks to the help of firetrucks, and then visits them inside and delivers presents.

“If it brings a smile to that one child, that’s worth it right there. That’s all it takes,” said Capt. Chris Branham with Columbia Fire. “You see a kid that’s in their worst moments, at a hospital. They have to spend Christmas in the hospital. And if we can put a smile on their face, and get their mind off what’s going on. That’s priceless.“

The Columbia Fire Department started the tradition when Branham’s daughter was a patient in the hospital. Branham asked his crew to help spread holiday cheer.

“About 10 years ago, come April, she got real sick. And we came here, a very healthy child and we almost lost her,” said Branham.

It’s not a tradition that makes Christmas Eve a little better for the families that can’t go home.

“It gets their mind off of it. And they’re smiling, and they’re having fun. That right there is what it’s all about,” said Branham.

“She was waving and saying ‘hi Santa’ and ‘ho ho ho,’” said Kira Brown, mother of a 2-year-old who’s currently in the hospital.

I know nobody wants to be in the hospital, but I feel like this is actually not a bad time to be here because everything’s so festive, there’s so much to look at, there’s so much going on to distract her. And everyone’s just really going out of their way.”

The West Columbia Fire Department and the Lugoff Fire Department volunteer to help Santa and the firefighters with the annual event.