Press Releases & News Briefs

SPROUT® CELEBRATES NATIONAL FIRE PREVENTION MONTH WITH SPARKLES THE FIRE SAFETY DOG

Preschool-friendly fire safety tips sponsored by State Farm® featuring Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog to air on Sprout all month long

Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, is celebrating National Fire Prevention Month all month long with preschool-friendly fire safety tips sponsored by State Farm featuring Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog and with new episodes of Fireman Sam™ only seen on Sprout. 

Sparkles, a trained Dalmatian owned by award-winning firefighter and fire safety educator Dayna Hilton stars in fire safety PSAs 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.
• Crawling low under smoke where the air is cleaner and cooler. 
 
"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.  "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," 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."

National Fire Prevention Month on Sprout wouldn't be complete without Fireman Sam, the Ultimate Hero Next Door.  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.  New CG animated episodes of Fireman Sam began airing on October 4 and will continue throughout the month.  Sprout is the exclusive broadcaster of Fireman Sam in the US.

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 www.firehousedogpublishing.com or 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, and is on track to reach one billion orders in 2010.  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 over 50 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™, Fireman Sam™, Fifi and the Flowertots™, dirtgirlworld 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. Our 17,800 agents and more than 68,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 34 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

###

Press Contact:
Jenni Glenn        
Sprout         
215-286-2703         
jenni_glenn@sproutonline.com