Fire trucks sweeten Christmas with lolly run

It wouldn’t be Christmas in Karratha without the tradition of the lolly run — the annual procession of fire trucks through the streets, sirens blaring, sharing lollies and inciting water fights.

To the delight of local children, the Karratha Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service began its lolly run last Friday and between then and this Saturday will cover every suburb in town.

Santa has also joined the team for another year and will be riding aboard the service’s vintage Bedford truck.

Karratha VFRS committee secretary Peter Morgan said the lolly run was a beloved local tradition.

“It's all about having fun and just promoting that community spirit,” he said.

“It’s probably one of only a few events here that really encourages people to get out the front of their houses and engaging with their neighbours, which they wouldn’t normally do.”

The Karratha lolly run started in the late 1970s and has been a Christmas staple ever since.

Volunteers start bagging lollies weeks in advance and this year the firies were also assisted by St John Ambulance volunteers.

Wickham Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service are also preparing to hold their own lolly run and water fight in the town on Christmas Eve.

The event is expected to start about 12pm and go into the evening.