Cambridge firefighters have gone viral once again, by recreating Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video to promote safer Halloween costumes for children.
The Cambridge Black Watch crew worked on the video - which has been played more than 130,000 times - for about a month and a half before filming it.
Dance teacher Megan Tupholme choreographed the video, which sees members of the watch, dressed as zombies, slide out of a drawer and from behind the door of a van to enter a smoke-filled station where they dance to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’.
At the end of the video, firefighter Dave Wisbey once again dons his cap to deliver a safety message as Dick Van Dyke.
Safety advice includes:
• Only buy children’s Halloween costumes from reputable outlets
• Look for the CE safety mark on outfits
• Never let children go anywhere near a naked flame
• In the event of a costume catching fire remember to stop, drop and roll
TV Presenter Claudia Winkleman championed the cause for safer Halloween costumes last year after her then eight-year-old daughter was hurt when the costume she was wearing caught fire.
Crew Commander Jeff Whitlam said he came up with the idea for the ‘Thriller’ video with firefighter James Ball after the success of last year’s video.
“I think everyone is a bit of a Michael Jackson fan and we were buoyed by the success of the last video.
“Ever since then people have been asking us when we were going to do another one so this was a great opportunity to deliver an important safety message.”
He said about six of the original watch are involved with this year’s video, with rehearsals taking place during firefighters’ lunch breaks.
CC Whitlam added: “They’re quite a special bunch as a lot of other watches wouldn’t give their time like that for free.
“Some of the team were keener than others, some were very reluctant and we’ve got some who have found a little niche they didn’t realise they had. Some of them enjoy it more than others while some of them had to be coerced but once they got started they really got into it. It’s been really good fun. The video is just an addition to what we do for our job. If it works really well then that’s a bonus.”
“We’ve really enjoyed making the videos but I think now we’ve done two we might have to look at something a little bit different next time.”
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