Fire education yields results in LEKMA
Twenty fire outbreaks were recorded in the Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipality (LEKMA) between January and March this year as against 60 fires within the same period last year.
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The reduction in fire outbreaks in the municipality in the first three months of 2017, according to officials of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in the municipality, was the result of intensive training and education of residents in the municipality.
Also, contingency plan on some premises labelled as high risk and hazard zones indicate that some institutions in the municipality are adhering to recommendations which have contributed to the downward trend in fire outbreaks.
The LEKMA Municipal Fire Commander, Mr Theophilus Dangbe, who led a team of officers from the service to visit some of the institutions that benefited from the contingency plan, said the plan had been helpful to the institutions.
The contingency plan
Mr Dangbe stated that the LEKMA Fire Command had identified a number of high risk facilities and hazard zones within the municipality and, therefore, found it necessary to design a contingency plan two years ago.
The purpose of the plan, he said, was to develop reliable systems for the rapid reporting of situations to be responded to by the GNFS.
“The plan ensures that the appropriate tactics are put into action to protect lives in the areas of operation,” he said.
Another purpose of the plan, Mr Dangbe explained, was to ensure that incidents were stabilised and controlled, while ensuring that property conservation operations were put side by side in all life saving operations.
Inspection and recommendations
The inspection by the LEKMA Fire Command was aimed at assessing the existing fire protection and defence systems and put in place emergency action plans in the event of major fires.
It was also to assess the industrial activities and storage facilities on the premises for safety compliance, while checking the outcomes of other recommendations that were given to the institutions when the command visited them in 2015 and 2016.
Some of the recommendations the GNFS made to the institutions to reduce fires were good housekeeping, ensuring the connection of water hydrants to main pipelines of the Ghana Water Company Limited and regular maintenance of installed extinguishers.
When the command visited the Nungua mall, the results that came out of the recommendations were applauded.