Fire service pursues illegal speed hump builders in V/R
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has embarked on an exercise to identify individuals behind the erection of illegal speed humps on roads in the Volta Region to prosecute them swiftly.
“We will do this in collaboration with the municipal and district assemblies,” the Volta Regional GNFS Commander, Assistant Chief Fire Officer One (ACFO 1) Joy Ameyibor Ayim said.
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He said there were about 200 of such humps in the Volta Region alone, posing serious danger to vehicles and also frustrating distress call responses and rescue operations by the GNFS.
He was briefing the Daily Graphic last Friday after personnel of the service took part in a procession on the streets of Ho as part of activities marking this year’s Fire Safety Week celebration.
The event was marked on the theme: “Safety Environment – Key to investment”.
ACFO1 Ayim said the speed humps were made of crude materials such as tree stems, rocks and clay, which could not only cause speeding vehicles to veer off the road but also damage the road.
With regard to emergency operations, ACFO1 Ayim said fire engines were forced to slow down at the humps, adding that the slightest delay in rescue or an emergency operation could cost lives and destroy property on an extensive scale.
“Apart from that, the fire engines are bulky, some with 3,000-gallon water capacity and such obstructions on the road could cause terrible accidents,” the regional GNFS commander explained.
Apart from the illegal and unauthorised speed humps, the commander said some traders in some communities put their shops made of shipping containers on fire hydrants and that was a great source for worry.
Ruthless
For that matter, he said, the GNFS would be ruthless in the exercise meant to bring sanity on the roads and the neighbourhoods as far operations of the service were concerned.
Touching on fire outbreaks in the region, ACFO 1 Ayim said that last year, there were 451 of such incidents, out of which 145 were domestic fires.
They also included 95 bush fires, 38 electrical, 33 vehicular, 41 commercial fires and 28 fires caused by accidents.
He said this year, 345 fire outbreaks had been recorded in the region, with domestic cases accounting for 130, followed by 84 bush fires, 38 commercial fire outbreaks and 41 accidents, with the rest being electrical and vehicular cases.
ACFO1 Ayim reminded the public that it was everyone’s responsibility to make conscious and sustained efforts to prevent fire at home, work places and everywhere.
Meanwhile, checks by the Daily Graphic have shown that some traders in communities along the Ho-Denu road intentionally installed speed humps on the road to compel motorists to stop by their stalls.