'Operation Warm': Twin Cities Firefighters Give Coats To Kids In Need

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Firefighters in Minneapolis and St. Paul responded to a different call to duty Thursday. They made sure thousands of Twin Cities kids will be taking on winter in comfort and in style.

It's not usually a good thing when paramedics and firefighters are covering a room, but the uniformed affair at Obama Elementary in St. Paul was a great thing.

Students at several Minneapolis and St. Paul schools were given the chance to choose their very own, spanking-new winter coat. It's all thanks to a group of firefighters who call it "Operation Warm," which appears to be a successful mission by the room full of smiling faces.

Colin Oglesbee is a St. Paul firefighter and co-director of Operation Warm Twin Cities.

"We go into these kids homes and usually it's a 911 call -- it's somebody's worst day," he said. "So we're happy to be able to make, hopefully, somebody's best day instead. We know the circumstances that a lot of these children are living in, and this is just one small way to help out."

And helping they are -- just ask the educators at St. Paul's Obama Elementary.

"Last year, just to kind of give you an example, there were times when we could not have recess because not everybody brought a warm coat," Davis Lorenzo said. "So this is very good that now we've got everybody now fitted for the winter time."

After a day's work at the school, Operation Warm appears to be a successful mission.

Darius Miler is a 4th Grader at Obama, "I was so excited because I never thought I could get a coat from a firefighter," 4th grader Darius Miler said. "This is, like, my first time getting a coat for free and it is amazing."

It's a day that proves you never know how an emergency responder may come to the rescue.

All of the Operation Warm coats are brand new, they are actually made by adults with disabilities