Real life firefighters are going to be teaming up with Fireman Sam to help keep children safe.
Officers from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service will join forces with the legendary TV firefighter from Pontypandy on Tuesday, August 19, who will be making appearances at intervals between 11am and 3:30pm at Eagles Meadow shopping centre, Wrexham.
Youngsters will get the chance to undertake special fire safety quizzes in an inflatable igloo with all those taking part being awarded with a prize.
There will also be an opportunity for youngsters to try on a real fire kit and have their picture taken, as well as meeting local firefighters.
The visit by Fireman Sam is the latest in a series of appearances by popular TV characters as part of a “Celebrity Summer” at Eagles Meadow. The final visit will be by Lau Lau from Waybuloo on Tuesday, August 26.
Chris Nott, Community Safety Manager for Wrexham and Flintshire, said: “We’re thrilled to be working alongside Fireman Sam at Eagles Meadow to help spread to word on fire safety.
“We’ll be promoting our fire safety messages to children and young people, giving them the opportunity to take part in a fun quiz to learn how to stay safe – all those taking part will be rewarded with a special prize. Parents will also have the chance to register for a free home safety check, where they can have free smoke alarms fitted in their home where needed.”
Sam is the central character of an animated children’s TV series about the firefighting team and other townspeople in a fictional rural town in the South Wales valleys.
Coincidentally, Nia Ceidiog, the writer who first brought Fireman Sam to life in 1985 comes from Coedpoeth, near Wrexham.
She is proud that Fireman Sam is still on patrol and delighting new generations of children almost 30 years after she first penned the iconic Welsh character.
Nia, a former pupil of Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, said: “I think it’s fantastic that Sam is also still doing his rounds in person and that he’ll be at Eagles Meadow in Wrexham to spread the word about fire safety.
The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from Kent, Dave Gingell and Dave Jones, who took it to Mike Young from Barry in South Wales who had already created the animated children’s character of Superted.
It then went to S4C’s director of animation, Chris Grace, who saw its potential and authorised a series. Chris had previously commissioned Superted which enjoyed great success in the UK and internationally.
The show’s characters and storylines were created by Cardiff-based illustrator Rob Lee and the programme was put together using a method of puppet animation which took four days to produce just one minute of action.
After writing Fireman Sam, or Sam Tan in Welsh, Nia, went on to become an award-winning independent television producer and director.
She now heads up the Cardiff-based Ceidiog TV, which specialises in the production of children’s programmes.
Nia added: “I’m very proud of the fact that I wrote all the scripts for Fireman Sam from then until the original series finished in 1994.
“Welsh and English versions of the show were produced back to back for S4C and the BBC respectively.
“The two former firemen had originally created the character of Sam to help them in their fundraising and it sort of grew from there when they met Mike Young and Rob Lee.
“It was huge fun to write but it was originally produced in a very different era, without the technology which is available today.
“For a start I wrote all the scripts in longhand and then got someone to type them up.
“When the scripts were finished they were then sent in the post to the producers, although by the time the last one was done we did have fax machines and I was able to send the scripts that way!”
Nia added: “It was a very happy time for me. Sam was basically aimed at six year olds, and it was quite easy for me to target the scripts to this because at the time my son Dafydd, who is now 33, was six himself.
“In those days you couldn’t really have fires written into the show as it was thought this might upset the children watching, so I had to put Sam into other situations firefighters find themselves in.
“That’s why we had him dealing with lots of cats stuck up trees and people with their heads through in railings.
“The shows we made back then are still being shown in various countries across the world and are particularly popular in Belgium and the Netherlands.
“There has since been a new Fireman Sam TV series and there are also games, videos and other activities.”
Kevin Critchley, the manager of Eagles Meadow, is a big fan of Fireman Sam.
He said: “Fire safety is a vitally important issue and I am delighted we will be playing our part in getting the message across to the youngsters who come to see Fireman Sam.”
