TEMA FIRE SERVICE MAKES STRIDES

By Benjamin Xornam Glover, TEMA

The Tema Office of the Ghana National Fire Service, (GNFS) recorded 112 fire outbreaks in the first quarter of 2017 as compared to 150 recorded within the same period last year, which is a 25.3 per cent reduction.

The Regional Commander of the GNFS, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, (ACFO), Ms Frances Rockson attributed the strides made to intensified public education on basic fire safety tips by the service.

ACFO  Rockson in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Tema revealed that her outfit in collaboration with other stakeholders including the Metropolitan Assembly, Traders, and Ghana Police Service have been organising a series of public campaigns to educate the general public on basic fire safety tips.

MARKET FIRES

In the era of recent incidents of fire outbreaks in major markets across the country, the Tema Community One market, the major market in the Metropolis,  is yet to record any major market fire incident and this the Regional Fire Commander said was due intensive patrols of the market.

She said to protect this enviable record,  Market Patrol Teams have been formed to regularly patrol all major markets within the Tema area and beyond to avert any unfortunate incidents and the attendant destruction of wares and goods in the markets.

Ms Rockson said the GNFS would collaborate with the Tema Metropolitan Assembly and the Market Queens on this to educate traders in the markets for them to adhere strictly to safety practices in the various markets

She also spoke of the need for rigid enforcement of bye-laws on fire prevention passed by the TMA stressing that District Commanders of the GNFS have been tasked to liaise with their respective Assemblies to put in place and enforce by-laws that prohibits indiscriminate use of naked flames in the markets.

COLLABORATION

The Regional Fire Commander said the District Commanders have also been tasked to help the market authorities to designate specific areas for cooking and heating and also clear allays in the markets for easy access to the markets by Fire Tenders in case of emergencies.

Ms Rockson said an audit of fire hydrants meant to serve as water sources to fight fire in the metropolis revealed that a number of them have been encroached on by illegal structures while others have been sealed by the Ghana Water Company.

She said the GNFS working with the Assembly and the Ghana Water Company to ensure that the hydrants are functional especially in and around the markets to aid in fire fighting.

ACFO Rockson said her outfit has also initiated an education campaign to ensure that peoples home and their families as well as business and are prepared in the event of a fire.

She said the focus is to highlight the importance of fire prevention throughout the year with the view to reducing fire-related deaths, injuries, and damages.

RESCUE

ACFO Rockson said the GNFS is also responsible for the rescue and evacuation of victims from all forms of accidents to safety and as a region that has the Motorway and other highways running through its jurisdiction, rescue squads have been formed to ensure the quick extrication of road crash victims.

She mentioned the Tema-Accra Motorway, Tema-Ada Highway, Afienya-Akosombo Highway and Accra-Dodowa-Somanya Road as some of the highways in focus.

ACFO Rockson said the Command is also liaising with Assembly members and Opinion leaders along those routes  to train Community Rescue Volunteers on the proper and scientific way to extricate road crash victims on all the accident the prone roads in the Tema area.

This, she explained is to ensure that in the event of road crashes along these routes, the public does not end up aggravating the conditions of the victims.

EXPANSION

The Regional Fire Commander said as a region, the GNFS has identified the time lag between when they receive emergency calls and the time they arrive at emergency scenes on the Tema – Ada road and as a measure to stem the tide, the Command is in consultation with the Ada West District Assembly to establish a new Fire Station at Sege to reduce the response time in those area.

A similar move, she indicated is being explored for the establishment of a Fire Station on the Spintex Road which houses many homes and industries, stressing that when this is done, many more lives and properties will be saved in the event of fires and road crashes.

INDUSTRIAL FIRES

Tema is home to many industries and thus very prone to fire incidents. It would be recalled that on February 25 this year, twelve fuel tankers went up in flames when fire engulfed a tanker yard near the Ashaiman Timber Market.

 

Also on January 25, 3017 three trucks containing fuel got burnt after a tanker exploded at Kpone, near Tema. In both instances, no casualty was recorded following the swift intervention by personnel of the GNFS to bring the inferno under control.

In order to prevent fire outbreaks and in line with the  Fire Precaution (Premises) Regulations, L.I. 1724, the Command in March this year embarked on a number of  industrial visit to inspect fire safety certificate.

During the visit, premises which were operating without a fire safety certificates had their premises locked up and asked to cease operations until they acquire the necessary certificate.

END