Fireman Sam

Fireman Sam is a British animated comedy children's series about a fireman called Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd and Tonypandy, which are situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) apart in the South Wales Valleys). The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from London, England, who took their idea to artist and writer Rob Lee who developed the concept, and the show was commissioned. Fireman Sam first appeared as Sam Tân (Fireman Sam in Welsh) as a Welsh language series on S4C in 1987, and later that year on BBC1. The original series finished in 1994, and a new series that expanded the character cast commenced in 2003. The series was also shown in Gaelic in Scotland. The series was sold to over 40 countries and has been used across the UK to promote fire safety.