Savage Fire Department goes viral with "Christmas Vacation" spoof
SAVAGE, Minn. — The Savage Fire Department has gone viral.
A spoof from the classic Christmas movie "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" inspired a spoof: "Savage Fire Station Vacation." Since it was posted last week, it's gained more than 1.4 million views on Tik Tok and more than 49,000 views on Facebook.
"Its just kind of a weird thing to hear, 'we saw you on our TikTok page,'" SFD firefighter Sam Dockry said.
Making holiday movie spoofs is a tradition for the SFD. In recent years they've recreated scenes from Elf and Home Alone. Besides spreading holiday cheer, firefighters tell us there's a purpose behind the post: public outreach.
"They get a face to the service and they feel a little more comfortable when they are responding to their house," Dockry said. "Whether that's fire or medical, it might be one of the worst days of their life. So, to have some familiarization with the crews that work here in Savage goes a long way."
MORE NEWS: Record high temperature recorded in Minnesota on Christmas Day
For the "stars" of the viral video, it's hard to believe the video's been viewed more than one million times.
"[My mind] hasn't wrapped around it yet," Savage Fire Department Capt. Kevin Pass said with a laugh. "It just astonishes me that many people have viewed it already."
Adding to the fun, the video includes several bloopers at the end.
"We had a lot of fun creating the video. I would say 50 to 60% was scripted, and then you see with the outtakes at the end, we put our special little touch on it," Pass said.
Pass says the video's impact stretches beyond public outreach – it also plays a part in recruitment and retention.
"We've has quite a few people comment saying they want to move to this community because of how much fun they has watching the video," Pass said. "And if our city and our public figures work like this, they want to be a part of it."
Savage Fire Department wasn't the only crew to dig into the Christmas spirit. Red Wing Fire Department posted a light show — as well as Wyoming Fire Department.