GNFS initiates fire safety in fishing communities
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has launched a national programme aimed at promoting fire safety in fishing communities.
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Dubbed the “Fire Safety Visibility Programme for Coastal Communities”, the initiative will ensure increased presence of personnel of the service in coastal communities to educate fishermen on basic tips to prevent fire outbreaks.
The programme is expected to be carried out in all coastal areas in the country, especially in the Greater Accra, Western, Central, Volta and Eastern regions.
The launch
The launch of the initiative was held yesterday at Jamestown, a fishing community in Accra, where members of the public were urged to collaborate with the GNFS to reduce fire outbreaks.
Present at the event were officers of the GNFS, including the Director in charge of Safety, Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) William Yawson, the Director of Public Relations, Divisional Officer (DO)1 Prince Billy Anaglate, and other regional fire officers.
At the event, DCFO Yawson observed that fire safety was a shared responsibility, for which reason he urged members of the public to collaborate with the service to create a fire-free environment.
He asked fishermen to be careful when using premix fuel, adding that; “Practices such as leaving candles on overnight and careless dropping of burning cigarette must be avoided in order to prevent fire outbreaks.”
Other initiatives
The GNFS has already rolled out the “Fire Volunteers Squad” to educate farmers and hunters on the need to adhere to precautionary measures in the use of fire.
Under that programme, the fire volunteers visit farming communities to educate them on the need to manage naked fire properly in order to avoid the occurrence of bush fires, especially during the harmattan.
Fire education programmes have also been carried out by the GNFS for industry players such as Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) and owners of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plants.
DCFO Yawson said the time had come for the focus to be shifted towards fishing communities, since the residents of those areas had a major stake in the use of fuel and other combustible substances in their trade.
Involvement
The Greater Accra Metro Fire Officer (MFO), DO1 Lily Ashong Robertson, said fire outbreaks had reduced considerably in the Greater Accra Region as a result of the intensive fire education that had been carried out by the fire officers.
She urged all stakeholders to get involved to ensure that conditions that gave rise to fire outbreaks were curbed.
