Firefighters and motion picture producers are collaborating to create a new children's fire safety cartoon unlike any other.
The 30-minute, animated cartoon called "Firefighter Frank" teaches fire safety lessons through a story, and will come with a live-action supplement featuring firefighters of Cherokee County Fire and EMS in Georgia.
"We're real excited," said PIO Tim Cavender. "We've been involved with the project since it was just an idea."
Along with several other fire departments, Cherokee County officials have also served as consultants and critics to make sure that every detail is correct. They even requested that the character Andy, an eight-year-old boy often seen on a skateboard, be drawn to wear a helmet and knee pads.
The result, Cavender said, is an extremely comprehensive and expertly researched safety resource.
"This one goes far beyond what I've seen with other videos, and has covered just about everything you could think of in regards to fire safety," he said.
Cavender said he got involved in the project because he was an acquaintance of President/CEO Dan Johnson of Motion Picture Services/Toon Studio, based in Tennessee. Fire officials from Chattanooga, Atlanta and Cincinnati were also involved.
Johnson told them he wanted his information to be 100 percent correct and sent off preview copies so they could tell him what was wrong. "And believe me, they did," he laughed. "And we wanted that. Every little thing."
Johnson said the cartoon is currently in the testing phases at elementary schools, cub scouts, and other groups where the children are given a pre and post test.
Johnson said the results have been impressive. "Pretty much across the board, first, second and third graders were testing at about 30 percent of knowledge of basic fire rules, like 'get out and stay out' and testing door knobs," he said. "After the cartoon they were testing at 90 percent, even a week later. So we know it's working, and we're so excited about that."
The cartoon already has one safety expert hooked -- Public Education Officer Julia Holt of the City of Dickson, Tennessee, who received this year's national Safety Education Hero Award from the Home Safety Council.
She confirmed that most fire safety videos are out of date. "It's about time someone made a new one," she laughed. She said she was excited to test the cartoon because just six months ago, she wanted to buy fire safety videos and was disappointed with the lack of a modern selection.
She has one copy circulating at a school and showed her other copy to a group of preschoolers this week during a tour at Dickson's new fire station, she said.
She said the kids were giggling and engaged. "It keeps their attention and it covers it all," she said. "I think the kids are going to fall in love with it."
Cavender agreed. "I think the neat thing is that it captures the children's attention," he said. "It keeps them entertained as well as educating them at the same time."
The story revolves around Andy, his uncle Firefighter Frank, and a group of characters at the fire station -- a talking fire hose named Hose`, a ladder named Stretch, a Dalmatian named Spot, and a fire hydrant named Stubbs.
Now that the animation is complete, Cavender is helping to prepare for the live-action segment which will supplement the cartoon by showing some of the same lessons in live-action form.
The segment, called "A day in the Life of a Firefighter," will show footage of real firefighters, their equipment, and a smoky house fire so that children will recognize the real thing.
Cavender is providing footage and photographs for the project, and is currently making sure that every detail in the script is accurate. The department's safety educators, as well as safety and training divisions, are all involved.
"Before we were critiquing the animation. Now we're going to be critiquing our own people," Cavender said.
The project is particularly well suited to the department; one of the safety educators who will appear in the film is also a part time clown, and Cavender himself is a part time magician, has a background in television and once worked on a children's TV program in Atlanta.
Johnson said the cartoon is entirely funded from within the company, and was their first attempt at an animated feature.
Motion Picture Services had been in business for 15 years doing projects like car ads and music videos, he said. A few years ago they reached a pinnacle by getting a production on permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution, about the Transportation Department. At that time, they decided to make their next challenge something that would make a difference in people's lives.
After speaking with educators and politicians about what was needed, all the advice pointed toward children and safety, he said. After "Firefighter Frank," the company plans to do a full series on other children's safety issues, including natural disasters, traffic safety, safety on the Internet, and even child abduction and terrorism.
Johnson said "Firefighter Frank" became very personal as the staff worked on the project while continuing to see news reports of children killed in fires.
"At a point in time, it became a race against the clock that we needed to get this finished," Johnson said. The company's ultimate goal is to see the DVD help lower the number of children killed each year in house fires.
He said the company is in talks with retailers and hopes to arrange distribution to school systems as well as the general public. The DVD will be available in Spanish and close captioned, and will also contain three interactive games, including a floor plan maze of a house.
To sign up for more information when the cartoon is released, or to see a preview, visit the web site at
www.firefighterfrank.com.
Source:
FireHouse.com
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The CD player does though 
