Daily Graphic holds CEOs and Stakeholders Forum on ending fire outbreaks

The Daily Graphic’s CEOs and Stakeholders Breakfast Forum on ending fire outbreaks in Ghana was held at the Alisa Hotel in Accra, Friday.

The forum seeks to galvanize solutions to end the rampant and devastating fires that have beset the nation especially in recent times.

Various stakeholders participated in the forum. Visit our photo galleries for photos from the event.

Contributions:

Mr. Kenneth Ashigbey, MD, Graphic Communications Group Ltd

Graphic is not only seeking to look good but should serve as a tool for national development. Graphic will engage in taking on issues that resonate with the populace and seek solutions to drive the development of the country.

This forum is about meeting leadership of stakeholders to help craft solutions since leadership has a bigger responsibility to seek solutions. Other levels of stakeholders would be engaged.

Records of fires and devastation to disturbing. This is not about a talkshop but meeting to get answers to at least minimize the fires and bring the situation under control.

The lot of the fires have to do with how we do our things, most are incidents than accidents. The way we do our things therefore must change.

Wiring insulations are terrible, gauges are suspicious, most of the people we employ to fix our wiring don’t even know the technical specifications. We want solutions to help mother Ghana overcome the challenges.

Ransford Tetteh

The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr. Ransford Tetteh, presents graphic images of devastation and pain from major fires captured from across the nation by photographers of the GCGL. He says for the first quarter of 2013 alone, as much as GHS 1.47 million was lost in as many as 704 fires.

Representative of Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Akwasi Opon-Fosu

There is need to modernize our markets, both in structural design and management. Management could be arranged into private cooperatives or public private partnerships. Fire hydrants needed in all markets to help fight fires in good time. Fire safety programmes needed at least in public places with designated officers to manage regular education and drill programmes. Incidents, scope and extent of damage too huge and require multi-sectoral solutions. All must therefore get involved. Grateful to the organisers, GCGL for the platform.

Brigadier General J.B.E. Guyiri, acting Chief Fire Officer

Platform is timely and hopes for a consensus on workable solutions. Current phenomenon is beyond fire outbreaks and firefighting. Cites an article by one Dr. Yaw Ohemeng, on the causes of the fires which he says are staring us in the face. Need to isolate highly flammable/combustible inventory from main buildings, overloading of electrical sockets and non-maintenance of electric wiring recipe for fires.

Ghana National Fire Service has challenges with Manpower. Acceptable international standard is one fire officer per 800 persons but Ghana has one fire officer to 3,200 persons. That challenge affects ability to deploy liberally to cover the entire country. The institution also fights with others for water for fire fighting.

Indiscipline on the roads, tampering with vital evidence, failure to report fire on time to GNFS, failure to provide adequate information to fire fighters who respond to fire calls, lack of accessibility for firemen are all challenges. It is the responsibility of the Ghana Water Company to establish fire hydrants and not the fire service. Education is key and GNFS seeks collaborators and media in particular to support the institution. Challenges stakeholders to play roles effectively.

Hon. Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry

Agrees that incidents more than accidents are responsible for the fires.

The markets are seriously abused as they are turned into brothels, mini hotels and places of abode where some pay to sleep there.

The need to Modernize the markets has been taken with an almost religious zeal and there is no turning back. Every property must have a lifespan and therefore subject to review and upgrade. Rebuilding markets into modern facilities will inconvenience us all but we should look to the eventual progress we must make. Grateful for the forum and will make it the ministry’s responsibility to see to the implementation of good recommendations and solutions from forum. As a country we can and should arrest this problem.

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