Minister calls for intensive education on fire outbreaks

Mr Samuel Justice Adjei, Deputy Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, on Thursday appealed to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to step up its education on fire prevention nationwide to improve public awareness and understanding on the dangers of fire.

He said prevention must be the key point since in fighting fires lives and properties could be lost.

Mr Adjei said this at the launch of Brong-Ahafo Regional Fire Safety Week celebration in Sunyani. It is on the theme “Safety: A Shared Responsibility” to sensitize the general public on the causes, hazards and prevention of fires.

Mr Adjei appealed to the personnel to promote house-to-house campaigns to create awareness among the public particularly during the harmattan and expressed government’s commitment to provide logistics for fighting fires.

He said government had directed Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to establish fire safety committees to ensure safety in the markets and fire wardens would be trained to ensure a 24-hour check.

Mr Adjei urged the GNFS Directorates in the MMDAs to ensure that Ghana Water Company provided fire hydrants in markets, adding that there would be routine inspections in markets to check illegal electrical connections.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Kwame Larbi Apraku, Brong-Ahafo Regional Fire Commander, said a World Health Organization report showed that fire outbreak-related deaths ranked among the 15 leading causes of deaths among children and young adults aged between five to 25 years.

He said the Region recorded the highest fire outbreaks of 520 cases during the first and second quarters of 2013 in which 60 per cent of them were domestic fires. Nineteen people died and property worth GHC2,000,000 were destroyed.

Source: GNA