DAPHNE, Ala. — The New York Fire Department Thursday sent 24 firefighters to distribute 7,000 toys among Hurricane Katrina survivors along the Gulf Coast.

The effort — sponsored by the Stephen Siller “Let us do good” Children’s Foundation — marked the NYFD’s third visit for the Katrina Kids Toys program. This year, the program will reach children in Mississippi’s Harrison and Jackson counties.

“I don’t know if it’s the hospitality or the warm weather that keeps them coming,” said Tom Walker, Daphne Fire Department public information officer and firefighter.

The firemen left New York Tuesday morning with seven 26-foot delivery trucks and spent the night in Knoxville, Tenn. They arrived in Daphne Wednesday evening. The NYFD’s Mississippi-bound caravan left the Jubilee City around 10 a.m. Thursday.

Though many firefighters from the Spanish Harlem area admitted enjoying a break from the blizzards, the real reason they came was to show their appreciation for the Gulf Coast’s aid after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, said Jack Culkin of NYFD’s engine 53, ladder 43.

Hundreds of firefighters each year sign up for the toy drive. The hardest part is choosing the passengers and telling the others “no,” NYFD Lt. Tommy O’Conner said.

Choosing firefighters is only one part of the leg-work this mission takes. The NYFD and the the Stephen Siller Children’s Foundation have been collecting toys and making plans since March.

“They called me in September,” Charles Green, volunteer organizer of Katrina Kids Toys program said. “From there I made some calls to see if there were still needs to be met since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I found that there were still 200 families that qualify to get free school uniforms in Harrison and Jackson counties in Mississippi because of Katrina’s detriment. “I knew there had to be nearly 1,000 kids that would need toys for Christmas in that area, so I told them to come on back,” he said.

The NYFD will distribute toys in Moss Point, Miss., and Gulfport, Miss. They will attend some Head Start classes in Jackson, Miss. and distribute toys to those children as well.

Any remaining toys will be distributed within the Harrison and Jackson counties through the Toys for Tots program.

TO SEE PICTURES FROM THE NYFD'S VISIT, PURCHASE THE DEC. 15 EDITION OF THE DAPHNE BULLETIN.