Fire Service Boss On Western Regional Tour

The Acting Chief Fire Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Mr Edwin Ekow Blankson says the service would ensure that the One-District-One-Well-Equipped Fire station objective of management is realized.

He said this forms part of measures being made to respond quickly to fire emergency situations in all the Districts of the country.

Mr Blankson said this during his maiden visit to the Western Regional Fire Command of the GNFS in Takoradi.

The visit was to enable him to acquaint himself with issues on the ground and find practical solutions to the challenges confronting the Regional Fire Command.

He was accompanied by the Director of Public Affairs of the GNFS, DO1 Prince Billy Anaglate among other officials from the headquarters.

Mr Blankson said with the growing petro-chemical industry in the Region, it behoves the Command to locate a place closer to the industry for the citing of a Fire Station in order to reduce response time in case of fire incident within the oil industry.

He said the Western Region plays a strategic role in national development and asked personnel of the GNFS to position themselves and be up to the task to give investors the confidence that their businesses in the oil and gas industry is safe.

Mr Blankson said plans were far advanced to procure complete sets of fire fighting jackets for operational men with each responder entitled to a Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).

He said 'the days when fire fighters had to pay their own medical bills for injuries sustained in the line of duty is past since management has decided to foot all such bills".

Mr Blankson used the visit to pay tribute to the gallant men who were involved in the recent gas explosion at GHUMCO along the Sekondi-Takoradi highway saying "your diligence to duty will not be forgotten".

He said the GNFS was at the crossroads and the journey to restore the service to its former glory had begun and therefore warned personnel against 'the misapplication of any fire equipment especially for illegal mining activities.

'This is specifically in reference to the use of the feather weight pump to support the work of Galamseyers".

The Western Regional Fire Officer, ACFO Obeng Dankwa Dwamena disclosed that the Region had attended to 356 fires between January and October 2017 at an estimated cost of damage of GHȼ7,282,487,.08 with 193 injuries and three deaths recorded.

He said compared to the 473 fires at an estimated cost of damage of GHȼ1,112,613.00 with 15 injuries and one death recorded during the same period last year, resulting in about 25 per cent of fire reduction in the Region.

Mr Dwamena said the command has been implementing national policies such as fire safety auditing of all fuel stations/filling stations within the Region and enforcement of compliance with the recommendations made during the audit.

He said the Regional Command can boasts of 20 fire stations in 16 Districts with 6 District Assemblies yet to have fire stations with a fire cover of 73 per cent, adding that between 2018 and 2020, the fire cover for the Region, would be 100 per cent.

The Fire Officer said 'officers and men of the Command will continue to work assiduously so that the Western Region and the entire nation can benefit from the investment the state has made'.

GNA