BiIllie & Greg Shepherd Join Fireman Sam & The Child Accident Prevention Trust For Halloween And Bonfire Night Safety Campaign

CELEBRITY PARENTS AND TELEVISION PERSONALITIES BILLIE AND GREG SHEPHERD JOIN FIREMAN SAM TO HELP LAUNCH PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CHILD ACCIDENT PREVENTION TRUST TEACHING YOUNG CHILDREN ABOUT STAYING SAFE THIS HALLOWEEN AND BONFIRE NIGHT

· Billie and Greg are ambassadors for launch of new fire safety campaign from Fireman Sam and CAPT which includes publication today of new up-to-date advice for children around Halloween and Bonfire night safety

· This week the celebrity duo attended the Philias Fox nursery school in Maida Vale, London, to be take part in a fire safety talk given to pre-schoolers by Fireman Sam and a safety officer from CAPT

· All the action was captured by a camera crew for inclusion in a future episode of their hit reality TV show “The Mummy Diaries” airing in early 2020

· Billie was affected by a recent ‘near-miss’ fire incident in her family after her auntie accidently set herself alight four years ago whilst cooking and had a lucky escape without injury through her quick thinking to remove clothing and to extinguish the fire before it spread

Billie and Greg Shepherd have teamed-up with Fireman Sam and the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) in a bid to get young children switched on to safety this Halloween and Bonfire night. As part of the safety awareness drive this week the celebrity parents and stars of the hugely popular ITVBe series “The Mummy Diaries” rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in to help teach a group of young children some important advice around reducing the risk of injury from fireworks, bonfires and flammable costumes.

Billie (29) and Greg (34) who have two children of their own, Nelly, aged five and two-year-old Arthur – a huge Fireman Sam fan himself – attended the Phileas Fox nursery school in Maida Vale and assisted Fireman Sam and CAPT safety officer Christine Tame in giving the safety speech. CAPT is the UK’s leading charity working to reduce the number of children and young people killed, disabled or seriously injured in accidents.

The interactive safety session saw Billie and Greg demonstrating to the children how to Stop, Drop and Roll in a fire emergency; how to avoid touching hot items, as well as teaching the kids about wearing bright coloured clothing to help keep them visible at all times. All the action was captured by an ITV camera crew for inclusion in a future episode of “The Mummy Diaries” set to air next year.

The day’s proceedings were rounded off with an awareness raising photoshoot – with these the photos released to the press today in the lead up to Halloween and Bonfire night to help spread the word about the safety tips and advice for children that has been published today by Fireman Sam and CAPT as part of their partnership. These tips can be found in full at the bottom of this press release and are free for you to reproduce.

The background to Billie and Greg’s ambassadorship is that Billie has been switched on to fire safety since a ‘near-miss’ fire incident in her family four years ago. Her auntie’s dressing gown caught fire on a stove in her home in Essex when she was cooking – with almost disastrous consequences. “The fire quickly spread across the whole garment and in a matter of seconds it was out of control,” says Billie recalling the accident. “It was only for my auntie’s quick thinking that she managed to save herself from a serious injury,” she continues. “She went into overdrive and managed to remove the gown and throw it onto the floor before the flames could spread or cause any damage to her body”.

Quite understandably the scary experience left her auntie, Billie and the rest of their family extremely shook up. “Since this happened to my auntie, I have been really aware of fire safety and its importance,” says Billie. “I am now avoiding having any fire incidents myself at all costs. I will never have candles burning or naked flames around the kids and I am super keen that they learn about fire safety from a young age – it is essential knowledge that could save their life one day.

And it is even more essential around things like Halloween and Bonfire night where there is added danger and a risk of injury from things like Fireworks, bonfires and flammable costumes. This is why Greg and I are supporting the campaign and hoping to raise as much awareness for the launch of ‘Fireman Sam Safety Hero School’ and the safety tips and advice for kids they have published today,” Billie Continues.

“It’s a valuable campaign from Fireman Sam and the Child Accident Prevention Trust and I support it wholeheartedly,” adds Greg. “Having your children switched on to fire safety brings a certain peace of mind for you as a parent – but most importantly it is a potential life-saver for your kids. Having tips and advice that are written specifically for kids in their language that are bang up to date and easy to find is just what is needed to help keep children safe this Halloween and Bonfire night.”

About the partnership between Fireman Sam and CAPT and launch of ‘Fireman Sam Safety Hero School’

The collaboration between Fireman Sam and CAPT and forms part of the launch of “Fireman Sam Safety Hero School” – a new family-focussed safety initiative aimed at pre-schoolers in the UK helping to promote key safety messages in the areas of fire safety, water safety, safety in the home, road safety and animal safety. Based on a special safety curriculum written in conjunction with key partners and safety experts, Fireman Sam Safety Hero School is an entertaining and informative programme of events and activities giving essential information about staying safe in different situations that children may encounter in their everyday life.

From today, children and parents will be able to access the Halloween and Bonfire night safety tips, written using child-friendly language, at the “Fireman Sam Safety Hero School Hub" – a dedicated online platform. They will also be able to download fire safety activity sheets and watch fire safety videos from the Pontypandy firefighting crew. Children are incentivised to take part in the activities by earning certificates and badges once they have completed all the tasks, with the overall aim for them to complete all the safety modules and become a “Fireman Sam Ultimate Safety Hero”.

Helen Genia, Head of UK Licensing and Hardlines EMEA, Mattel Consumer Products, says “Fire safety and community spirit remain at the core of Fireman Sam values and our partnership with CAPT around Halloween and Bonfire night safety to launch ‘Fireman Sam’s Safety Hero School’ encapsulates this nicely with important safety advice given in a pre-school friendly way and made easily accessible for children.”

Katrina Phillips, CEO, Child Accident Prevention Trust, said “The Child Accident Prevention Trust exists to make sure children can lead active lives free from the suffering that serious accidents cause. Our work with Mattel, and Fireman Sam’s new Safety Hero School is a wonderful way to engage families with life-saving Halloween and Bonfire Night messages, making sure that children have fun safely.”

Halloween and Bonfire night Safety tips from Fireman Sam and CAPT

Halloween Safety tips:

Out and about
If you’re having fun trick or treating in the dark, wear bright and colourful clothes so that you can be seen by cars and other people. You could wear some glow sticks to help you stand out!

Hold a torch to make sure you can see where you’re going.

Spooky masks are fun to wear indoors, but outside they can make it difficult to see and hear the traffic around you. Leave your mask at home and try some scary face-paint instead!

When you’re crossing the road, STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN. Stay close to your grown-up and pay close attention.

Put toys and phones away when you’re out and about so you can focus on keeping safe and having fun!

Hold hands with your grown-up and stay close by them!

Fire safety tips
Look out for flames and keep safely back. You can spot them in bonfires, candles, lanterns and lit pumpkins. Keep any long, floaty bits of your costume away from flames.

Wear clothes under your costume to help protect your skin and keep you warm!

If you do catch your costume on a flame, don’t panic – STOP, DROP, and ROLL:

o STOP what you are doing.

o DROP to the ground and cover your face with your hands.

o ROLL over and over to put out the flames.

Practice your STOP, DROP, and ROLL before you go trick or treating and before your party. Get your friends to try it, too!

Hold a torch to make it easy for drivers to see you.

Tell a grown-up if you spot candles, lanterns, or lit pumpkins near paths or steps where someone might trip or fall. But don’t try to move them yourself.

Look for fun decorations and candles that have batteries instead of flames!

Other safety tips
Ask a grown-up to help you carve your pumpkin. Knives are sharp and carving can be tricky, so take care!

You could have fun painting your pumpkin instead, or create a design using marker pens and stick-on decorations!

Save your treats to enjoy at home. Walking and running with sweets and lollies can make you choke.

Firework and Bonfire Safety tips:

Fireworks are exciting, but they can be very dangerous. Listen to your grown-up about where is a safe place to stand.

Keep your sparkly sparkler safely away from other people and don’t run with them.

Wear your gloves when you hold sparklers and keep them away from your body.

Once sparklers are finished, put them into a bucket of water, don’t pick them back up.

Leave your dressing up clothes at home on fireworks night, wrap up warm instead.

Stand at a safe distance from the bonfire and stay close to the grown-ups.

Don’t be tempted to throw things into the bonfire or poke at it with sticks.

If you’re going to a firework display, hold hands with your grown-up and stay with them all the time.

About Fireman Sam™
Fireman Sam™, the ultimate Hero Next Door, has been racing to the rescue with his team members of the Pontypandy Firefighting crew since they made their UK tv debut in 1987. Through teamwork, action, rescue + bravery, Sam and the team deliver an important safety message and lesson in every episode. Whether stuck on a high cliff-face or caught in an underground cave, the residents of Pontypandy know help is always close at hand thanks to brave and resourceful Fireman Sam. Since being created, Fireman Sam has aired in over 155 territories and 36 languages; achieved over 1.3BN global views on their YouTube channel and has a global social media following of over 285,000 and growing. Fireman Sam is the No. 1 property in Preschool Role Play category across EUR5 (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) & Russia and is the #9 Fastest Growing Property YTD, with NPD data showing continuous growth for Germany, France and Belgium. (NPD EPOS, August 2017). Fireman Sam is produced by HIT Entertainment, a subsidiary of Mattel, and distributed by DHX, who struck an exclusive deal with Mattel in 2015.

About CAPT
The Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) is the UK’s leading charity working to reduce the number of children and young people killed, disabled or seriously injured in accidents. Further advice about keeping children safe from serious accidents.

About Mattel
Mattel is a leading global children’s entertainment company that specializes in design and production of quality toys and consumer products. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain and develop children through play. We engage consumers through our portfolio of iconic franchises, including Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, American Girl®, Fisher-Price®, Thomas & Friends® and MEGA®, as well as other popular brands that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include film and television content, gaming, music and live events. We operate in 40 locations and sell products in more than 150 countries in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and technology companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in exploring the wonder of childhood and empowering kids to reach their full potential.