‘12 Days’ Theme : Mysterious Gifts Go to Firefighters

The guerrilla Santa Claus of Inglewood strikes when it gets dark.

This year, the recipients of his (or her) furtive generosity are the 36 firefighters of Fire Station 1 in downtown Inglewood.

The modus operandi is classic. It follows the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” except that the gifts have been edible rather than maids a-milking or lords a-leaping.

On Dec. 13, someone left a package outside the door of the station, rang the night bell and disappeared. The package contained a pound of chocolate candies and a note that read: “On the first day of Christmas, someone gave to the boys at Fire Station 1 . . . a box of chocolate candies.”

The pattern has continued each day, with a new gift left in back of the station or by the front roll-up doors during the evening or late afternoon. The list so far: two half-gallons of ice cream, three pies, four boxes of Christmas cookies, five kinds of baked desserts, two 6-inch cakes and, last night, seven bags of popcorn.

May Be Group Effort

The firefighters don’t know their benefactor. They suspect a group effort, possibly by a neighborhood block club.

“Sometimes they knock,” said Fire Capt. Paul Morgan. “Sometimes they ring the bell. Once we got a phone call from a little kid saying to look outside.”

Handwritten and typed notes on green or white file cards accompany each package, some with stickers depicting festive cartoon bears. They describe each gift and its relationship to the number of days of Christmas, as in the song. For example, the note on the sixth day pointed out that the two round cakes were 6 inches in diameter.

The traditional 12 days of Christmas actually run from Dec. 26 to Jan. 6, the day of the Epiphany and the arrival of the three Wise Men to the birthplace of the infant Jesus. But the men of Station 1 aren’t going to quibble.

“It’s great,” said Firefighter Jerry O’Hagan, adding that this is the second year of this particular tradition in Inglewood.

Taco Dinners

Last year, someone showered Fire Station 3 at 90th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard with gifts on 12 nights. One night, five taco dinners were left at the station after a phone call instructing the men not to cook dinner.

“They were really sneaky last year,” O’Hagan said. “Station 3 is smaller, and at night we sit in an area right by the back door. We’d jump up when we heard something, but they’d be gone.”

Firefighter Mike Kearns said he had heard that a block club was involved in last year’s gift-giving, but Capt. Morgan said no one really knows for sure.

Kearns said he and his co-workers do not accept gratuities, but food is another thing. They have left a Christmas card for their mysterious friend or friends.

“We don’t want to catch them,” said O’Hagan. “We just want to say thank you.”

They may well get that opportunity on Christmas Eve--the 12th day.

Last Christmas Eve, the firefighters at Station 3 rushed to the door when they heard a noise. They saw a red pickup truck pulling away with someone in the back wearing a Santa Claus suit and waving goodby.