The truck, which cost more than $1 million, was mostly funded with a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant. The department took delivery in October and has been training crew members in anticipation of today’s event, spokesman Steve Mapes said.

It is the department’s first platform truck, which allows a firefighter to stand on an elevated platform behind a heat shield rather than on an exposed ladder. The truck will allow the department to fight fires and do rescue operations at higher elevations, including in such locations as apartment complexes, big-box retail stores and high-rise buildings, officials have said.

"Over the years they've come to know that when the siren is blowing and it's coming in to their subdivision, Santa's coming on a fire truck. And we actually have a lot of older people who enjoy seeing that too," Santa said.

The fire truck made its rounds on Monday and Wednesday as well, and folks in Luray say they look forward to this event every year.

Officials say the other firefighter who was in the vehicle is okay. They say he was taken to the hospital for observation.

The crash was blamed on ice and slick conditions.

Chief Dennis Reilly posted about the crash on the department's Facebook page.

Fire Chief Jeff Dorhauer was on the scene of a crash on the side of U.S. 54, near the east bound on-ramp at highway 42, when a second vehicle spun out of control and hit the guard rail behind the chief’s vehicle.

A tow truck pulled up and as the driver was walking up to assist, a second vehicle spun out of control and hit the tow truck. One of the department’s engines arrived on the scene, and a third vehicle lost control and hit the side of the fire truck. The engine and all the other vehicles involved suffered extensive damage, but no one was hurt.