Sprout Assists National Fire Prevention Month

Sprout is celebrating National Fire Prevention Month with preschool-friendly fire safety tips sponsored by State Farm, featuring Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog and with new episodes of Fireman Sam.
Sparkles, a trained Dalmatian owned by award-winning firefighter and fire safety educator Dayna Hilton stars in fire safety public service announcements that offer helpful tips such as: having your home fire drill map and outside family meeting place; knowing the sound and purpose of a smoke alarm; and crawling low under smoke where the air is cleaner and cooler.

Moreover, Sprout, a joint venture of Comcast Corp., HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop, is unveiling fresh installments of series Fireman Sam throughout the month. The network is the exclusive carrier for the CG series, which takes place in the picturesque town of Pontypandy, where they never seems to be a quiet day and Fireman Sam is often called to the rescue.

"We're excited to be joining forces once again with Firefighter Dayna, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog and our sponsor State Farm to share these important fire safety messages on Sprout," said Andrew Beecham, senior vice president of programming at Sprout, in a statement. "Sprout is all about creating a fun, interactive experience for parents and kids to share together, so it's great when we have an opportunity to produce content like this that helps parents talk about important issues like safety with their children."

"Illustrating simple, informative and life-saving messages in a fun and memorable way is what helps save lives," noted Hilton, the recipient of the 2009 National Fire Protection Association Educator of the Year Award. "Children under the age of five are more vulnerable to injury or death in a fire emergency than any other age group, so it's never too soon to start teaching your kids about fire safety."