The series original run was from 26th December 1985 - 20th June 1994 in Wales, on the children's block of Bumper Films and S4C, and from 17th November 1987 to 16th November 1994 in the rest of United Kingdom, broadcasting on BBC 1. The idea for the series was coined by two former ex-firemen from Kent, Dave Gingell and Dave Jones, and written by Rob Lee. Fireman Sam has also been dubbed in Gaelic in Scotland. Fireman Sam has been aired over 40 countries around the world and has been translated more than 25 languages including Mandarin language.