RFD #1 Public Educator Participates in PBS KIDS Sprout Project

Press Release from the National Volunteer Fire Council:

Johnson County RFD #1 Educator, Dayna Hilton, will be sharing fire safety tips on PBS KIDS Sprout during Fire Prevention Week in October. Hilton will appear in several 1 ?-minute segments to air in conjunction with the launch of the new Sprout series Fireman Sam.

Fireman Sam is designed to communicate valuable lessons for children regarding fire safety and social responsibilities for the community. It will air weekend mornings on PBS KIDS Sprout at 8:30 a.m. ET. As part of the launch for the program, Sprout will air Hilton’s “Fire Safety Tips” segments four times a day during Fire Prevention Week (October 8-14) and continuing through the launch of Fireman Sam on October 14 and 15. The segments will feature several important fire safety messages for preschool age children, and Hilton will also talk about fire equipment and the firefighting profession.

Hilton manages the department’s successful Fire Corps program. The efforts of Hilton, RFD #1’s firefighters, and the Fire Corps team, comprised of University of the Ozarks Phi Beta Lambda and Students in Free Enterprise members, resulted in a 34% decrease in fire-related residential property losses in the department’s district between 2004 and 2005. Hilton was also the recipient of the National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) 2006 Fire Prevention Award. The award, sponsored by First Alert, is given annually to a volunteer firefighter who exemplifies the philosophy of fire prevention through their contributions to the field.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to share fire safety messages with so many children and their caregivers,” said Hilton. “According to the U.S. Fire Administration, the very young (those under 5) have a much greater risk of death than other children. In fact, that age group accounts for 12% of fire related deaths – the highest proportion for any age group. Thanks to the good folks at the NVFC and everyone at PBS KIDS Sprout, who have worked tirelessly to have the most up-to-date fire safety messages in their programming, the project has the potential of helping change these unfortunate statistics."

The Fire Corps program is involved in many initiatives that promote fire safety. Fire Corps, which is administered on a national level by the NVFC, is a federally-funded, locally-driven effort under Citizen Corps that encourages community members to offer their time and talents to their local fire/EMS departments in a non-emergency capacity, enabling the department personnel to focus their efforts on providing emergency services. Fire Corps allows departments to provide additional services they may not otherwise be able to offer, including fire safety training in the community. Fire Corps and the NVFC are both members of the National Preparedness Month Coalition and supporters of Fire Prevention Week. Learn more about Fire Corps at http://www.firecorps.org/ and the NVFC at http://www.nvfc.org/.

“It is very important to teach children fire safety at an early age, and I applaud PBS KIDS Sprout for their efforts,” said Philip C. Stittleburg, Chairman of the NVFC. “Dayna is the perfect choice to deliver the Fire Safety Tips segments. Her dedication to fire safety, along with her enthusiasm and knowledge, make her ideal for this project.”

PBS KIDS SproutSM, the first and only 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, the country’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services; HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality entertainment for young children; PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), the most trusted distributor of award-winning children’s programming; and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street.

Since debuting its video on demand (VOD) service in April 2005, PBS KIDS Sprout has become the #1 Kids On Demand service, generating over 100 million orders since launch. The 24-hour digital channel, which launched in September 2005 along with the website (http://www.sproutletsgrow.com/), is available on digital cable and satellite to almost 20 million committed subscribers. The network’s program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based children’s shows includes: Sesame Street®, Bob the Builder™, Barney & Friends™, Thomas & Friends™, Angelina Ballerina™, Sagwa: The Chinese Siamese Cat™, Caillou™, The Berenstain Bears™, Jay Jay the Jet Plane™, Teletubbies™, Dragon Tales™, Pingu™, Make Way For Noddy™ and more.

To see photos from the project, visit http://travel.webshots.com/album/554489054hXXuXe