Eastern Region lost 508 million cedis to fire

Koforidua, Feb 09, GNA - The Eastern Region lost over 508 million cedis last year through 154 fire cases out of the 53.6 billion cedis lost in 2,683 nationwide cases recorded. The Eastern Regional Fire Officer, ACFO Samuel Mensah, who revealed this at the launch of "Fire Safety at Home", programme at Koforidua on Thursday, said the figures were based on reported cases only. He said in recognition of such repeated misfortune over the years, the government in 2003 passed a Legislative Instrument (L.I1724) to promote fire precaution but expressed regret that the public were not adhering to the provisions of the law.

Mr Mensah said the Service would soon embark on a programme to check the public adherence to the regulation. In a speech read on his behalf the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Yaw Barimah, expressed concern at the slow implementation of the L.I 1724 and called for drastic measures to enforce the provision of the law. He asked officials of the Service to respond promptly to public call for assistance, so that they could enjoy greater goodwill from the general public.

The Bishop of the Koforidua Methodist Diocese, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Twum-Baah, called for more public education for the public to understand the work of the Service to co-operate with it. He urged the Service to impress upon the district and regional authorities to ensure that fire hydrants destroyed during construction works were replaced immediately. 09 Feb 06