South Yorkshire Firefighters Launch Charity Single Aiming for Christmas Number One

A team of firefighters is endeavoring to dominate the holiday music charts, aspiring to secure the Christmas number one spot with their charitable single. The song, Fire Safety Dance, which is a reinterpretation of the Men Without Hats hit The Safety Dance, features personnel from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue along with the local ensemble Big Shaun and the Steel People. Its release commemorates the daily contributions of firefighters and marks the brigade’s 50th anniversary. All proceeds generated from the single will be directed to the Fire Fighters Charity, an organization that provides mental health support to firefighters and their families who have experienced traumatic incidents. Deputy Chief Fire Officer Andy Strelczenie mentioned that this is not the service’s inaugural single release, recalling “Chip Pans on Fire” as their previous attempt at a number one hit eight years prior. He stated, “We wanted to do it again with the Fire Fighters Charity so we were contacted by Big Shaun some months ago to ask if we’d be willing to do something a bit different again this year.” While various songs were considered for the single, Mr. Strelczenie emphasized the importance of it conveying a fire safety message. The objective is for Fire Safety Dance to reach the pinnacle of the music charts on 20 December, following its release on Friday. However, the service indicated that the true measure of the track’s success lies in the funds raised for the Fire Fighters Charity. Mr. Strelczenie commented, “During their working hours, firefighters can be exposed to truly traumatic and difficult circumstances.” He further added, “It’s only in recent years that we’ve begun to appreciate how deeply this can affect our staff and what we can do to help them, and the Fire Fighter’s Charity are a big part of that.” Before its availability on streaming services, the music video was published on social media. It showcases a specially choreographed dance by the INK Dance school, and the public has been encouraged to submit videos of themselves performing the routine. Mr. Strelczenie concluded, “We would just like people to look at it, help us try to get to Christmas number one and put South Yorkshire on the map.” Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.