Stop Attacking Firefighters: We Run To Danger When You Run Away

They called us, and we came. But what did we receive? Stones.

This is the painful story of the Ghanaian firefighter. A man who leaves his wife, his four girls, his family at home, not knowing if he will return, only to go and save a stranger's property, and is rewarded with stones, insults, and beatings.

THE KASOA SHAME: 20TH OCTOBER, 2026
At about 10:00 am at High Tension, Kasoa, in the Awutu Senya East Municipality, fire broke out in a phone repair shop. Suspected electrical fault. The flames spread fast because the containers were close to each other, full of phones, plastics, and highly flammable gadgets.

The residents did the right thing first - they called Kasoa Fire Station. But Kasoa's tender had broken down. They called Buduburam - same story, broken down.

Weija Fire Station, several kilometers away, was dispatched. These men drove with speed to save the people of Kasoa. One of them collapsed at the fire scene due to heat and smoke inhalation and was rushed to Kasoa Polyclinic.

And what did the angry youth do when Weija arrived? They pelted stones at them. They smashed the windscreen of the fire tender - the only working tender in the area.

In the end, over 20 container shops were destroyed, running into millions of Ghana Cedis. But the bigger destruction was our morale.

This is not the first time. At Kasoa New Market, Oduponkpehe Market, and many places across Ghana - firefighters are attacked daily. In Tamale, Sunyani, Accra, Kumasi - when we arrive late because of broken down tenders, bad roads, or late calls, we are beaten.

WHO IS TO BLAME?
Let us be honest. The public is frustrated, and rightly so. A fire station a stone-throw away cannot respond. That is painful. But is it the fault of the firefighter sitting in the tender? No.

That firefighter did not buy the tender. He did not break it. He left his station to come and help you. When you pelt him with stones, you delay him. When you smash his windscreen, you make it impossible for him to see and fight the fire. When you beat him, the next time there is a fire in your house, he will think twice.

As the Assemblyman for American Town, Hon. Shadrach Boakye Yiadom rightly said: "I don't understand why my people resorted to pelting stones at them. That is something I will never encourage my people to do." NADMO Director Mr. Nash Nyandey also condemned the attack.

WE NEED CRAZY LAWS TO PROTECT FIREFIGHTERS

In Ghana, our laws are too soft. A person can attack a firefighter, smash a fire tender worth GHS 2 million, and walk away with a small fine or a misdemeanor charge.

Look at America. On 15th October, 2026, at the White House Rose Garden, President Donald Trump looked at his Attorney General, Todd Blanche, and said directly: “Anybody that murders a firefighter going up a ladder, and they shoot him. Death penalty, Todd.'

In the US, killing a firefighter in the line of duty is an aggravating factor for the death penalty under federal law and in states like Mississippi and Colorado. Under 18 U.S.C. 1116 and many state laws, assaulting a firefighter attracts 10 years imprisonment, and killing him attracts life or death.

Why? Because America understands that a firefighter is not an ordinary worker. He is a life-saver who runs into burning buildings, into accidents, into floods when everyone is running out. To attack him is to attack life itself.

GOVERNMENT OF GHANA MUST ACT
On the bases of the above, I therefore call on the president, H. E John draman Mahama, the Minister for interior, Muntaka Mubarik and the Parliament of Ghana to act on the following.

1. Enact a Firefighter Protection Law: Make it a felony with a minimum 5-year prison sentence without option of fine to attack, assault, or obstruct a firefighter in the line of duty.

2. Make damage to a fire tender a serious offence: Anyone who damages a fire appliance should pay for its full repair and serve prison time.

3. Declare killing a firefighter on duty as first-degree murder: Just like America, Ghana should declare that if you kill a firefighter who came to save you, you face life imprisonment or death penalty.

4. Equip us:Government must urgently repair Kasoa, Buduburam and all broken down tenders. Kasoa is a municipality with over 300,000 people but depends on Weija.

To the public: Next time you see fire, call 112 early. Clear the road. Support us, don't stone us. The firefighter collapsing at Kasoa High Tension could have died. He was not fighting his own fire. He was fighting yours.

If you kill the firefighter, who will save you tomorrow?

STOP ATTACKING FIREFIGHTERS NOW
Story by ADOI BABA HUDU, Northern Regional Command P.R.O