Central Region records 23% reduction in fire outbreaks
The Central Region recorded a 23 per cent reduction in fire outbreaks in the first quarter of this year as compared to figures for the same period last year.
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The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) recorded a total of 257 fire outbreaks in the first quarter of 2023 as against 196 in 2024. For the first quarter, bushfires, which have always been the leading cause of fire outbreaks in the first and last quarters of every year, saw a drastic reduction by 39 per cent, from 98 in the first quarter of 2023 to 59 in 2024.
Bushfires
The Central Regional Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, DOIII Abdul Wasiu Hudu, said that the reduction in bushfires contributed greatly to the overall reduction in fire outbreaks in the region.
He said domestic fires also reduced from 69 in 2023 to 60 in 2024, vehicular fires from 23 in 2023 to 10 in 2024 and electrical fires from 13 in 2023 to 10 in 2024. He stated that the reduction did not come as a surprise to the regional command of the GNFS, because the metropolitan, municipal and district fire commanders stepped up fire safety campaigns in their various jurisdictions.
He said the fire safety task force was also inaugurated to enforce fire safety measures across the region. DOIII Hudu stated that one person was injured as a result of the fires in the first quarter of 2024 while there were no injuries in 2023.
Other fires
However, he said other fires recorded an increase over the period. These, he noted, included commercial fires, which increased from 27 in 2023 to 36 in 2024, institutional fires from seven to nine and refuse fires from three to four over the same period.
DOIII Hudu emphasised that to further reduce fire outbreaks, fire safety campaigns would be intensified across the region in the coming days to control or reduce the spate of fire outbreaks in the region.
"Even though the service in the region does not have enough logistics to undertake intensive fire safety activities, it's able to manage to get results. “We urge the general public to take fire safety seriously to save lives and property. Individuals and groups can invite the service periodically to engage them in basic fire safety education,” he said.
DOIII Hudu said the service was committed to ensuring a safe environment for lives and businesses to thrive for the total development of the country.