Let’s ensure a casualty free yuletide

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has called on Ghanaians to celebrate this year’s Christmas in moderation and ensure that the country did not record any casualties during the yuletide.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Grade One (ACFO1), Frederick Ohemeng, Western Regional Commander made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency ahead of this year’s Christmas festivities.

“I will advise the general public to desist from activities such as negligence in the usage of electrical appliances in the home. We should not drink and drive, we should avoid careless driving. Let us all do our best to enjoy a casualty free yuletide”, he said.

He assured that personnel of the Service would be ready to sacrifice their merry-making and be on alert to attend to all fires that might occur before, during, and after the yuletide.

However, he implored the public to first call the fire service in case of a fire outbreak rather than waiting for the fire to get out of hand before contacting them.

ACFO Ohemeng gave the statistics of fire cases recorded in the Region and said the Command recorded a total of 292 incidents of fire between January and November 2021 as against 358 recorded in the same period last year.

The figure, he said, represented an 18.44 percent reduction in the cases recorded.

This, he said, was as a result of intensified public education drive undertaken in the year under review.

ACFO Ohemeng mentioned the various measures put in place to include intensified public education at market places and homes on the dangers of fire-outbreaks especially during the harmattan season and how to avoid such situations.

He appealed to people to avoid overloading their multi-sockets, be extra careful with their gas cylinder connections as well as electrical gadgets, and discouraged market women from cooking in their shops.

In that regard, he admonished Ghanaians to acquire fire extinguishers in their homes as by law established.

He explained that there were potential situations of fire in every home as people continued to use naked wires, LPG, electrical gadgets, and were often negligent in their usage.

He added that having a fire extinguisher at the home would ensure that they respond swiftly when fires occurred even before the arrival of the Fire Service to save lives and properties.