Fireman Sam isn’t a job ad, says creator

THE creator of Fireman Sam yesterday poured water over claims the children’s programme was putting women off joining fire services.

David Jones spoke out after a senior fire officer complained that the show was stereotypical.

Former firefighter Mr Jones, 74, who invented the character, above, in the 1980s, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘It is for children. It wasn’t meant to be advertised as a recruiting post.

‘It is supposed to teach kids some small safety items. Someone doesn’t join the fire service when they watch Fireman Sam. They wouldn’t be the right people for the job if that was their mentality.’

Earlier this week Alex Johnson, the temporary deputy chief fire officer for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, blamed a lack of female recruits on how firefighters were portrayed in the media. There were 1,838 women in fire services in 2017 – representing just 5.2 per cent of staff – compared to 33,782 men.

She said: ‘Children’s shows like Fireman Sam don’t help to break down stereotypes either. Most of the job is nothing like it is portrayed.’

Fireman Sam first appeared on Welsh TV channel S4C in 1987. It started on BBC1 that year and ran until 1994. A new series with extra characters began in 2003. The stop-motion technique was dropped in favour of CGI in 2008, when Channel 5 began airing it.