Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has announced that the country lost in excess of GH¢64 million to 6,796 fire outbreaks last year alone, those incidents, he said, resulted in 50 deaths and 241 injuries.
He described the situation as unacceptable and one that “we must all come together and find a solution to.
In this regard, Dr. Bawumia said, the GNFS would receive 200 rapid intervention vehicles from the government before the end of the year to augment its fleet of operational vehicles.
He said a prototype of the vehicles was already in the country, and that the rest would also be assembled in the country.
Dr. Bawumia, who was addressing the graduation parade of the Cadet Course Intake 23 of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at the Fire Academy and Training School at James Town in Accra, indicated that fire outbreaks had dealt a big blow to many individuals, organizations, institutions and even the government.
The repercussions of these losses, especially with the loss of human lives, he said, had been dire and still difficult to grapple with.
He said the fight for fire safety was far from over as it required continuous attention and a concerted effort to consolidate the gains so far made and improve upon their achievements.
This he said would require collective efforts of all and sundry by way of adherence to fire safety messages and practices to avoid the occurrence of fire outbreaks.
He, therefore, urged the officers of the service to continue to educate the public, urging them to find more innovative and creative means to spread fire safety news to every nook and cranny of the country.
Government support.
Story by: Osei Akoto (Teacher Kojo) / Ahotoronline.com
