Fire damage estimated at GH¢6.9m

Sat. November 20, 2010
THE Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) recorded 2,858 fire outbreaks in 2009 which claimed 56 lives, injured 56 others and left behind an estimated damage of GH¢6.9 million.
Addressing a meeting organised for directors and regional commanders of the service in Accra, Mr Albert Brown Gaisie, the acting Chief Fire Officer, said the target of the GNFS was to reduce the cost of damage and loss of lives and property to the barest minimum and called on the personnel to play their respective roles effectively.
“This is in pursuit of our dream to ultimately achieve a fire free Ghana in the approaching Yuletide,” he stressed.
He said to achieve that objective, various programmes had been proposed for implementation for the rest of the year and mentioned capacity building, fire safety education in schools, colleges and universities, in collaboration with the appropriate authorities, as well as intensification of the broadcast of fire safety tit-bits through the print media, radio and television.
He also talked about the organisation of seminars and workshops, in collaboration with stakeholders, including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Ghana Water Company Limited, district assemblies, among others.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu, advised the officers not to allow recent happenings in the service to divide them, saying they should rather close their ranks and work for the benefit of the nation.
He also advised those in charge of procurement in the service to be circumspect in their duties, adding that anybody found on the wrong side of the Procurement Law would not be spared.
On the interdicted officials of the service, the Interior Minister said they were made to step aside according to public service regulations so that investigations could be carried into the matter which, he said, bordered on procurement.
He said they had not been found guilty and, therefore, they had the right to employ all legal means to clear their names.
Mr Amidu urged the management of the service to scrutinise the large number of applications which had been received for recruitment into the service, adding that there was the need for the most qualified to be engaged to ensure discipline and efficiency.
The Chairman of the Fire Service Council, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, indicated that the government had released funds for the acquisition of 54 pick-up vehicles and 20 19-seater buses for educational campaigns.
He said the council was holding discussions with the appropriate authorities to ensure that fire officers were allowed to go on peace-keeping missions.