While some may prefer a hot and steamy firemen calendar for the holidays, one Oklahoma fire department opted to go in quite a different direction.
In 2016 alone, six of the 33 firefighters at Durant Fire Department in Oklahoma became parents to adorable babies. So, they decided to pull out all the stops and coordinate a sweet Christmas card featuring the six future firefighters.
"The idea came about from a casual conversation between several of the wives and mothers (including the chief's wife Dana Joines and Lt. Cliff Wilson's wife Shembra Wilson), about the unique circumstances of so many newborns being born into the department at one time," Richard Parker, a firefighter and paramedic for the department wrote to Mashable.
The babies pose in three different settings around the fire station – including the firetruck.
Parker took the photos for the card.
"Before I joined the fire department I was a professional photographer," Parker told Mashable. "So when the idea was proposed to feature our new additions as a possible Christmas card, I was asked if I would take the photographs. I of course agreed and the rest is history."
Parker said the photoshoot took a lot of work – but was definitely worth it in the end. A team of parents and firefighters coordinated matching outfits for the tots, and Parker went up in a cherry picker to get an aerial view.
"The mothers got together and decided on the costumes," he said.
"Having worked with infants before, I knew there would be a very small window of opportunity. So I came up with the different scenes and set everything up before the families showed up," Parker said. "Once everyone was there, I would say the entire photo shoot only took about 30 to 45 minutes."
Happy holidays, future firefighters!
