The Dormaa Central Municipal Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), DO III Eunice Adwoa Serwaa, has expressed her concern regarding the recurrent assaults and attacks on fire service personnel during firefighting operations. She described this situation as regrettable and emphasized the urgent need for comprehensive public awareness to bring it to an end.
In an interview with the media, the commander highlighted that due to a lack of understanding among many Ghanaians about the responsibilities of the fire service, there is a tendency to attack personnel at fire scenes. She elucidated that firefighting is a complex endeavor, far beyond merely dousing flames with water.
She explained that firefighters must safeguard adjacent properties from being engulfed by the blaze while simultaneously working to extinguish the fire in the affected area or structure. Furthermore, the officer in charge must ascertain the cause of the fire; if it is electrical, they must cut the electric flow before splashing water to prevent electrocution, a fact that the public often fails to understand, leading to accusations of inaction and subsequent assaults.
She therefore called for extensive education and sensitization of the citizenry regarding the intricacies of firefighting, with the aim of curtailing the persistent attacks on fire service personnel while they are on duty.
DO III Eunice Adwoa Serwaa implored every household to procure fire extinguishers as a preliminary measure against fire outbreaks, enabling them to address fire outbreaks in their early stages before they escalates. She underscored that the cost of fire extinguishers is unlikely to exceed the value of one’s assets, hence the need for their acquisition to manage fires in their initial phases prior to the intervention of the Ghana National Fire Service, thereby safeguarding one’s properties from fire outbreaks.
