Sparky the Fire Dog

Sparky the fire dog is a Dalmatian who has been the official mascot of the “National Fire Protection Association”, a United States organization in charge of creating and maintaining minimum standards and requirements for fire prevention, suppression training, and equipment since 1951. Sparky not only hosts his own website to teach children about fire safety and other important safety topics, but has also starred in his own series of television public service announcements.

Sparky is the key representative in proliferating messages to children about fire hazards and precautionary safety measures. Today, the image of Sparky has become synonymous with helping children from Kindergarten to Grade 6 become aware of what to do in the event of fire. Carol Heller, executive in charge of new product innovations at Kidde, made this comment: “Sparky the Fire Dog has helped millions of children be better informed about what to do in the event of a fire through his image on activity books, clothing and other information materials.”

Once upon a time, there lived a small Dalmatian puppy who used to sit near a fence at a school. The puppy enjoyed watching the little children of the school play outdoors. One day, the puppy decided to follow two of the children to their home. Tired from the trot, the puppy lay near a tree to rest his weary feet. Upon awakening, the shocked little puppy realized that the children’s’ home was on fire. The puppy scampered to the local fire station to warn the firemen. The firemen heard the puppy’s plea for help and rushed to the fire scene to douse the flames. When the raging fire was finally extinguished, the firemen noticed the poor little worried Dalmatian shivering under a tree.

The firefighters took the Dalmatian and brought him to the children’s family, in hopes that he could cheer them up. Once there, the firefighters informed the family that the dog had ran all the way to the fire station to inform the firefighters of the raging fire. The firefighters realized that the dog was a heroic anti-fire dog. Thus, the firefighters called the Dalmatian “Sparky the fire dog”, and Sparky found a new home at the fire station from then on.