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In the winter of 2008, then 5-year-old Angelica of Tulsa, Oklahoma realized that her house was on fire. She crawled out of her house and told her father, who was disoriented by the smoke, to do the same. They reached safety just before their home was engulfed in flames. Angelica was able to save herself and her father by imitating a Dalmatian named Sparkles.

Sparkles the fire safety dog was the “star” of volunteer firefighter Dayna Hilton’s fire safety education program, which she began delivering to schools across Arkansas in 2003. As part of the program, Sparkles would demonstrate to students how to get low and crawl beneath the smoke, in the event of a fire. Angelica later reported that lesson was the one she remembered on that fateful day.

For eight years, Hilton and Sparkles together spread their safety message to children and adults. The year before Sparkles passed away in 2010, Hilton founded the non profit, Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation, to honor her and her fire safety dog work.

Today, almost six years later, Hilton’s dog Molly carries on Sparkles’ legacy. While they still travel often to give presentations around the country, putting about 15,000 miles on the “Spot Mobile” every year, Hilton and Molly have also started two programs that allow them to reach a much larger audience.

The first of these programs is a 15-minute live-streaming show called Safety Spot, which airs Fridays at 9 a.m. CST. To watch, visit the Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation site.

“We share what Molly has been up to and we also share fire safety tips and, on occasion, we will have guests come in,” Hilton said. “When Molly and I are traveling, we do the show wherever we are.”

The show started live-streaming in Hilton’s living room in 2011. Almost 200 episodes later, it now takes place in a “clubhouse,” which survived a severe tornado about a week after being built. The clubhouse is also used to make fire safety videos and conduct Skype sessions, which are part of the Foundation’s other main program and have reached more than 7,500 children and nearly 800 adults across 262,458 miles so far.

“It’s a wonderful place to reach all those children without us having to load up our equipment each time,” Hilton said. “It’s very time-consuming and costly to travel for us, so being able to have one spot where we can keep all of our equipment and be able to do our fire safety program in there is just a blessing.”

So far, Hilton and Molly have Skyped with schools, summer camps, libraries, fire departments and other organizations in 31 states and 15 countries. One of their goals is to Skype with children in all 50 states.

Hilton credits her programs’ corporate sponsors, First Alert and State Farm, as well as other supporters with the Foundation’s success.

“Schools don’t have to pay for a Skype visit, thanks to our corporate partners. Typically whenever they Skype with people, like with authors and other guests, they have to pay a fee, but with our program, we do it at no cost for them and for other organizations.”

Supporters have allowed the Foundation to further expand by funding the purchase of a new building, known as the Safety Center. It holds offices as well as a large room where Dayna hopes to hold fire safety classes and raise additional money by hosting fire safety-themed birthday parties.

In addition to preparing thousands of children and adults for an emergency, the Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation has been credited with directly helping to save the lives of eight children and three adults who have experienced real fire situations and used what they learned through the Foundation programs.

As the Foundation continues to expand and reach more people, Dayna still cites the moment she heard Angelica’s story as the point that made her dedicate her life to this cause. “I knew what the dogs were doing was working,” she said.

“There’s something really special and almost magical whenever one of the dogs helps me with the fire safety program. I think because of the dogs, the children truly listen, and not only do they listen and pay attention, but they also remember what they have learned.”

Molly has a Facebook page that is regularly updated with her activities and there is even a free Molly the Fire Safety Dog app. Dayna’s dogs also have a website, www.firesafetydogs.com.