We recorded over 5,500 fire incidents in 2025 — Chief Fire Officer

The Chief Fire Officer, Daniella Mawusi Ntow Sarpong, has disclosed that a total of 5,585 fire incidents were recorded across Ghana between January and November 2025.

This, she said, represented a slight reduction compared to 5,596 incidents recorded in the same period the previous year.

Speaking on Accra-based TV3’s Hot Issues programme on Sunday, January 12, the Chief Fire Officer attributed the recurring fires largely to negligence on the part of citizens.

“From January to November, we’ve recorded 5,585 fires… I will say it’s negligence on the part of the citizenry, because there are things that are preventable,” she said.

She cited the use of unqualified electricians and unsafe practices in residential and commercial buildings as key contributors to fire outbreaks.

“You need an electrician to work on your gadgets or building for you… But here, because we want everything very cheap, you see in the market, they’ll be disconnecting and connecting and all that, and it’s one of the major problems that is worrying us as a nation,” she noted.

The Chief Fire Officer further stressed the role of market managers and local authorities in enforcing fire safety standards, noting that compliance has been weak despite ongoing education campaigns.

“If the Queen mothers and the market managers are serious on them, I think these things would be controlled, and it will be better than we are seeing now,” she said.

The Chief Fire Officer also highlighted that the service is doing its best with limited resources, acknowledging that the government has promised additional fire engines to strengthen response capacity.

She hinted at plans to intensify inspections and certification for non-residential buildings to curb preventable fire incidents.