Description:
Brannbamsen Bjørnis (Firefighter Teddy Bear Bjørnis) is a mascot and teddy bear, used by the Norwegian fire department to reach out to children. The tool was developed in 2012 by a Norwegian firefighter and was inspired by the Swedish concept of comforting and calming children after dramatic experiences with a plush toy. The Norwegian fire department started taking teddy bears to the children during their operations, such as fires and accidents.
They added a human-sized mascot bear who teaches children in kindergartens, at events and through videos, songs, and games on their website. There are materials for kindergartens and parents that teach children in a playful way what happens in case of a fire and other emergencies, how to prepare and what to do. In his own TV series, Bjørnis shows the different tasks of the fire brigade and how to behave in different emergency situations.
Bjørnis is used in two strategies:
1. Teddy bears distributed by the fire brigade to children in traumatic situations to comfort and reassure them.
2. Bjørnis mascot is used as the main character in national fire safety education, representing the fire service in national and local awareness campaigns to reach children and their parents and educate them about emergencies.
The solution could help to address the following needs of first responders and authorities:
Communicate with or alert citizens
Improve preparedness level among citizens