Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog's Fire Safety Tips on Sprout's Webpage

Sparkles' fire safety site on the PBS Kids Sprout webpage. Fun videos, games and activity sheets for the pre-schooler in your life! To go the page, click HERE.

A Big High Paw to Dawn Meehan!

One of my FAVORITE bloggers on the whole face of the planet is Dawn Meehan ("Because I Said So Blog"). Yesterday Dawn shared the "Change Your Batteries" Sprout fire safety tip. Thank you Dawn for helping spread the fire saf...ety message! Sparkles has made you the newest Sparkles the Fire Safety Dogs' Fire Safety Champion!

Have Fun Chica and Kevin!

Good luck to our good friends, Kevin and Chica from the Sunny Side Up Show on Sprout! Firefighter Dayna and I hope you have fun this week sharing the fire safety message. Learning about fire safety is so much fun!

To learn more about this exciting project, click HERE!

Sprout Fire Prevention Week Fire Safety Promos

Below you will find three promos that Sprout has been running in anticipation for Fire Prevention Week next week. Sprout has some pretty exciting things planned!







To learn more about this exciting week, visit HERE!

Sparkles' Picture on Times Square in New York City!

Have you ever had one of those days where you felt like you needed someone to pinch you to see if it's real? Well, today I am having one of those days!

Thanks to the good folks at Sprout, a picture of Sparkles, Spanner and I appeared on a jumbotron in Times Square! Sprout has been very pro-active in helping share the fire safety message, and the dogs and I are so very grateful to have partnered with them on this important project!



And, even more good news! The photo also appeared on a jumbtron in Las Vegas!


Learn more about the Sprout fire safety project HERE.

Thank you Sprout for all that you do to help Sparkles, Spanner, and me and all of the firefighters out there to help keep children fire safe!

Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog and Firefighter Dayna to Share Fire Safety Tips on Sprout®

Yesterday Sprout released this press release!

SPROUT® CELEBRATES NATIONAL FIRE PREVENTION WEEK WITH AWARD-WINNING FIREFIGHTER DAYNA HILTON AND SPARKLES THE FIRE SAFETY DOG

Week-Long Event on Sprout's Sunny Side Up Show Sponsored by State Farm® to Feature Exclusive, New CG-Animated Episodes of Fireman Sam™, Fire Safety Tips and More !

Philadelphia, PA – September 22, 2009 – /PRNewswire/ — Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, will celebrate National Fire Prevention Week on The Sunny Side Up Show with games, activities, crafts and preschool-friendly fire safety tips from award-winning firefighter Dayna Hilton and her trained Dalmatian, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog. Sponsored by State Farm, this special themed week on the live Sunny Side Up Show begins on Monday, October 5 at 9:00 a.m. E.T. and will also feature exclusive, new CG-animated episodes of Fireman Sam™.
Dayna and Sparkles will share fire safety tips such as:

· Get Low and Go – If you see or smell smoke, drop on all fours…the air is cleaner and cooler down by the floors…get low and go!
· Change Your Batteries – Time for change! The reason is safety. The fall season is when families change batteries in their smoke alarms again.
· Be Smart Before Fires Start – To stay safe, here's something you can do… stay away from hot things that can hurt you. Be smart before fires start!

"Illustrating simple, informative and life-saving messages in a fun and memorable way is what helps saves lives," said Dayna Hilton, firefighter, author and 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."

"We're excited to be joining forces with Firefighter Dayna and our sponsor State Farm to share these important fire safety messages on Sprout," said Andrew Beecham, senior vice president of programming at Sprout. "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 a noteworthy themed week like this on our live Sunny Side Up Show."

National Fire Prevention Week on Sprout wouldn't be complete without Fireman Sam, the Ultimate Hero Next Door. Fireman Sam has recently undergone a significant program refresh with the launch of this all new CG animated television series that features new characters, new seaside destinations and daring new rescue missions. Based in the picturesque town of Pontypandy, where they never seem to have a quiet day, Fireman Sam is often called to the rescue. Each episode communicates a valuable lesson for children regarding fire safety and social responsibility for the community. The new CG-animated episodes of Fireman Sam debuted exclusively in the US on Sprout this September.

For additional information on Sprout programs or schedules, or to play games, download free coloring pages or find great activities for kids, visit SproutOnline.com. To find out where Sprout is available in your area, call 1.8.SPROUT.411 or go to SproutPlease.com.

For more information on Firefighter Dayna, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog or the award-winning children's book, Sparkles The Fire Safety Dog, go to http://www.firehousedogpublishing.com/ or http://www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com/.

About Sprout®
PBS KIDS Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, was created as a partnership among Comcast Corporation, HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop. Since debuting its video on demand (VOD) service in April 2005, Sprout has become the #1 On Demand service for younger children, generating over half a billion views. The 24-hour digital channel, which launched in September 2005 along with the website (SproutOnline.com), is the only channel that follows the day of child from breakfast to bedtime with its distinctive programming. Currently, Sprout is available in 47 million unique households.

The network's program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based children's shows includes: Sesame Street®, Bob the Builder™, Barney & Friends™, The Wiggles®, Thomas & Friends™, Angelina Ballerina™, Caillou®, The Berenstain Bears™, Dragon Tales™, Make Way For Noddy™, Fireman Sam™, Fifi and the Flowertots™ and more.
About State Farm®

State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,700 agents and 68,600 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 78.7 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

Nice Note from a Sproutlet

Yesterday we received this nice note from Todd, the father of four year old Sam, a fan of all things firefighting, Fireman Sam and the fire safety tips on PBS KIDS Sprout.

Photo by Raleigh photographer Gregory Wiggs

Note from Sam's Dad, Todd:

"Sparkles and Spanner!" "Sparkles and Spanner!" Familiar words in my house. I happened upon your site quite by accident, but am glad that I did. My four-year-old son Sam is a huge fan of not only "Fireman Sam," but of you as well. Very few evenings go by that we don't see you, and the dogs on our television. I happened upon your site by accident, but I am glad that I did. It's good to know that you are a 'real person,' :-) who is actively involved in fire safety education. My son is enamored with all things firefighter. I'm not a firefighter, but because of his passion for it, we've gotten involved in our local FF community. Sam has become a regular fixture around several of the stations in our area. He has gotten to do things like riding in an engine, manning a hose at a training fire, and being in parade."

Sam's dad started a blog for him and it is really incredible! Visit Sam's site at http://www.firefightersam.com/ . You will be amazed at Sam's adventures! Kudos to Todd and Sam for becoming involved with their local fire departments!

If you have a story that you would like to share, we would love to hear it! Please send it to sparkles@sparklesthefiresafetydog.com