Fireman Sam Ocean Rescue Centre Playset

Bud loves Fireman Sam. For the last couple of years the Welsh fireman and his fellow Pontypandy residents have become very familiar to us. The most recent series has seen the expansion of the rescue service to incorporate a brand new Ocean Rescue Centre and two new rescue vehicles - Juno, a jet ski, and Titan, a rescue boat. We'd already spotted the brand new Ocean Rescue Centre Playset from Character on sale and I had mentally added it to Bud's Christmas list so we were delighted to be asked to review it.

The Ocean Rescue Centre playset is a large playset which has a number of different functions. It is supplied with Juno and Fireman Sam dressed in his Ocean Rescue Survival Suit. It has a detachable helipad ready for Tom Thomas' helicopter to land with a ring of LED lights to guide the rescue helicopter in and out. There is a fireman's pole which Sam or Tom can use to access the helipad quickly and easily. Juno has her own launch pad and detachable ramp which fires her off out to the rescue at the press of a button. There is also a lift which will take your figure to the top of the control tower. The control tower on the Ocean Rescue Centre has a beacon light on top which, when pressed, flashes and sounds the alarm so everyone knows that there is an emergency.


The helipad lights and beacon both require 2xAA batteries. These aren't supplied so the first thing you will need to do, upon unpacking, is pop those in. The helipad batteries are easy but, to get to the beacon lights you will need to slide the top of the control tower to the right to turn it over and put the batteries in. You then press the beacon to turn the light and (rather noisy) alarm on and off. To switch on the helipad lights there is a slide switch on the side of it. The playset is solidly built, the only difficulty we have found is that Juno's ramp dislodges quite easily but I would rather that than it breaking off and I never really understand that as a complaint, you just put it back on again!


The Fireman Sam figure has a hole in his foot and this can be used to place him on the lift to the top of the control tower, and to clip him on to Juno. It's not too fiddly so Bud is able to use this function well and is quite pleased at how well it works, especially on the lift. The lift to the helipad has a nifty clip which fits around your figure and then they swivel up to the helicopter waiting at the top.


Bud has fully engaged with this toy since it arrived, from recreating story lines from the TV show to creating his own rescue scenarios, he has integrated the Ocean Rescue Centre into his Fireman Sam collection so we get Sam roaring up to the Centre in Venus or Jupiter and dashing to Juno to rescue someone at sea. It's been played with most days since it arrived and Bud is showing no sign of tiring of it at all.


Bud loves Fireman Sam and the Ocean Rescue Centre playset has been a terrific addition to his collection. He has loved having Fireman Sam in a different outfit to his usual fireman uniform and the new vehicle, Juno. We are definitely going to be adding Titan to his Christmas list too. At an RRP of £34:99 it is quite expensive but will be an essential for true Fireman Sam fans. It's a really fun, imaginative toy that will be enjoyed and engaged with by children who love both the show or the Fire Service generally. It gets a huge thumbs up from Bud and I.


If you'd like to see a review of Titan, the Rescue Boat, please check out In the Playroom to see what her boys made of it.

The Ocean Rescue Centre features in the brand new Fireman Sam: Ocean Rescue DVD - click on the link to read our review of it.

The Fireman Sam Ocean Rescue Playset is available from all usual stockists including Amazon.

Disclosure: We received this toy for review purposes.