C'ttee to raise funds to buy fire equipment (Spread)

A nine-member committee has been formed in Accra to raise funds for the purchase of fire fighting equipment for the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
The committee has the aim of raising funds to purchase about two turntables at the cost of between $1.5 million and $2.5 million each to fight fires in high-rise buildings.
The committee is chaired by the Director in charge of Business Continuity at the Bank of Ghana, Mr R. Kwesi Bentil, with the Assistant Chief Officer, Mr K. Kwarteng, as the Secretary.
The members are Mr G.A. Baafi of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT); Mr A. S. Mohammed of Silver Star Auto Limited; Mr K. Amponsah-Dapaah of the Property Department of SSNIT; Mr Mensah K. Agbessite of the Agricultural Development Bank and Mr Isaac Yaw Buabeng of the National Insurance Commission.
To receive the required support, the committee will, on Thursday, March 11, hold a stakeholders’ meeting at the headquarters of the GNFS for owners and occupants of high-rise buildings, owners and occupants of property close to high-rise buildings and all others who have the issue of fire fighting at heart.
Addressing the press in Accra yesterday, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Bentil, said although the government had expressed the desire to equip the GNFS, it behoved the public to take the lead in that direction, since they suffered most when there were fire outbreaks.
He said since high-rise buildings were springing up in the country, especially in Accra, there was the need to find ways of getting the appropriate fire fighting equipment to fight fires in such buildings in case they occurred, adding that fire outbreaks occurred in all societies, no matter the level of preventive measures put in place.
Mr Bentil explained that the idea of the Committee on High-rise Buildings occurred to him after he had personally witnessed the inferno at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building from his office on one of the top floors of the Cedi House.
He called on the public and especially stakeholders to support the fund-raising for the purchase of the equipment in good time to prevent another unfortunate situation.
For his part, the Chief Officer, Mr William Brown-Acquaye, directed that occupants of all buildings that had been in existence for more than 10 years must contract electrical engineers to inspect and test the electrical wiring system and carry out electrical re-wiring where required.
“Again, simple but effective workplace fire safety precautions must be religiously carried out by fire safety wardens or officers working as employees in their organisations,” he stated.
Mr Brown-Acquaye advised chief executive officers and top management of various corporate entities and organisations to redefine and demonstrate their interest in fire safety philosophies in their policy statements.
He also asked for maximum support from the public to enable the personnel of the service to perform effectively.