COEUR d'ALENE - Who needs elves and reindeer when you have firefighters and a 1947 Buffalo Fire Engine?

The Coeur d'Alene Firefighters Local 710 was joined Thursday by Santa for the first of five nights of spreading Christmas cheer for a good cause. For the last 10 years, firefighters have traveled around town, collecting food and cash donations for the food bank.

"This is a big part of what the fire department does," said Chris Kieres, who played Santa for the evening. "It's making sure there's food for people who need it. It's making sure we are involved in the community."

According to firefighter Jake Bieker, the firefighters used to use a backup engine for the annual event. Using the backup limited the amount of decorating they could do, but when the union acquired the 1947 Buffalo Fire Engine, things "slowly began evolving."

"Every year we've put more and more lights on it," Bieker said.

The sleigh's engine was given a final check-up before it roared to life and rumbled out of Coeur d'Alene Fire Station No. 3. More than 8,000 Christmas lights adorned the engine, and turned on and off in unison with holiday music playing from two large speakers mounted on the front bumper.

"The lights are run by controllers and dance to the Christmas music played by the fire engine," Bieker said. "We also have a Santa tracker which allows people to track Santa's location and know where to find him or know when he is getting closer to their house."

With everything in place, Santa stepped into the engine and the team was off. After making an appearance at Albertsons, the sleigh began weaving through neighborhoods.

Bright lights and loud festive music drew curious residents outside. When children approached the sleigh their eyes lit up. In his best Santa voice, Kieres greeted the children and asked them what they wanted for Christmas before a firefighter handed them a candy cane.

"It's fun for the kids, they get really excited," Kieres said. "We get excited too. It's a good time."

During the five-hour tour, several residents brought canned goods out to the firefighters to be donated to the food bank.

For the next four days, Santa and his sleigh will be rumbling through the streets of Coeur d'Alene from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. To see online where Santa is, visit www.cdafire.org/santa.html.