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The City of Orange Fire Department’s annual “Fill the Fire Truck Campaign” officially  ends Monday, but organizers are actually accepting toy donations through Tuesday in an effort to benefit as many local children as possible.

Fire department administrative assistant Mary Low said the donations are coming in with “pretty equal” proportion to previous years’ efforts.

“Usually the toys come in the last couple of days,” she said. “We have one contributor who donates a lot of money, so we go buy gifts.

“Since people donate the gifts to the different stations, everybody gets into it. It allows all three fire stations to come together and participate in the Christmas festivities.”

Fill the Fire Truck supports local families in need within the Orange community.

The City of Orange Fire Department coordinates with local charities to distribute the collected gifts where they are most needed.

Donations of new and unwrapped toys are accepted between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day of the week.

Gifts may be dropped off at the following fire stations within Orange:

Central Fire Station – 501 N. 7th St.

Fire Station # 2 – 1901 Allie Payne Rd.

Fire Station # 3 – 1717 MLK Dr.

“Monday, we’ll have our fire department Christmas dinner,” Low said. “We have our retirees that come, and they all bring gifts. It’s a time to celebrate and give back. It’s great with a lot of camaraderie, with dispatchers coming over and city council members with time to fellowship.

“It’s a great thing for the community because all of the toys stay local and go back into the Orange community.”

For additional information, call Fire Chief John Bilbo or Low at 409-883-1050.