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Konongo, Nkawie, and Ahafo, among others, are at risk of substantial property destruction if a fire breaks out.
This comes after the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) vowed to boycott or blacklist specific places due to the frequent attacks on their firefighters.
This declaration follows an event on Saturday, February 10, in Konongo, in which irate neighbors claimed that fire personnel came late to a fire breakout. This resulted in an attack on the cops and damage to a fire tender.
During a media briefing on Thursday, February 22, GNFS Public Relations Officer (PRO) ADO 1 Alex King Nartey stated that outdated equipment causes response delays.
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He emphasized that many fire tenders are between 15 and 20 years old, which is a big worry.
“The unfortunate thing is that we always say that our logistics are very lacking. Most of our fire tenders are between 15, and 20 years old, a very worrying situation. As I speak to you now, Kasoa and Weija, their tender fighting is out of commission, so if there’s any fire at Kasoa, the appliance will either have to move from Anyaa or Budumburam, that’s very bad.
“So it means that if there is any fire within the Budumburam area, and one of the Budumburam probably attended to that fire, it means we have to call a much further appliance, probably from Dansoman, to attend to it. So you see the little appliances that we have left, we are trying to salvage them.”
Nartey reported additional assaults on fire officers in Ahafo and Nkawie, resulting in injuries that required hospitalisation. Given these continuous issues, the GNFS is considering boycotting regions where their personnel are at risk of attack.
“So it becomes very appalling when they turn to put their frustration on us. So what we are deciding to do is embark on a boycott on areas that are known to always want to attack our men because, as we speak, a few days after this report was made, another attack happened to our men at Ahafo. Three or four have been hospitalised, and I’m even hearing at Nkawie, another issue has happened.”
To salvage this, Mr Nartey urged the government to ensure the timely acquisition and supply of new equipment, as well as the construction of more fire stations across the country.
Assembly leaders were also urged to educate their constituents about fire safety.