By: Ewoenam Kpodo | Voltaonlinegh |
The Chief Fire Officer (CFO) of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Mr. Edwin Ekow Blankson has called on firemen to keep to high standards to enable the service attain a enviable status recognisable worldwide.
CFO Blankson pledged his administration’s readiness to take the Service to a new status and get it to be at par with other security agencies in the country adding, it would do everything possible to ensure that.
He detailed some efforts being made, aimed at changing the face of GNFS since assuming the position of CFO earlier this year which included welfare of personnel, educational opportunities and provision of equipment needed for effective firefighting.
He therefore appealed to personnel to properly conduct themselves for the public to have a good impression about them and by extension, the service and asked that district chief officers should not “just accept dilapidated structures for use as fire stations” as those such structures could slur the reputation of the GNFS.
The Chief Executive Officer of the GNFS was speaking on Wednesday at the Volta Regional Fire Headquarters in Ho during a working visit of members of Ghana National Fire Service Council to Volta/Oti Region.
The visit was to interact with personnel and discuss issues concerning welfare, among others and take recommendations from the firemen to help transform the GNFS from its current status to that of a world class one.
Volta Regional Commander, Ghana National Fire Service, ACFO Janet Duah said “the staff strength of the Volta Regional Command is inadequate” with maximum number of personnel being 11 and minimum, 6 across the 17 fire stations in the region.
ACFO Duah noted that despite the challenges of low staff, the Command had put in measures which resulted in the region recording 86 fire outbreaks from January 2019 till now, a reduction of 32 per cent of fire cases recorded within same period last year.
“Despite this woefully inadequate number of personnel, the Volta Regional Command of Ghana National Fire Service has continued to live up to its mandate of preventing and managing undesired fires by applying both proactive and reactive contingencies, one of which is the Door To Door Fire Safety Campaign aimed at reducing fires in the region.”
Oti Regional Commander, Ghana National Fire Service, DOI Alhaji Richard Nuhu Gibril also briefed the gathering on the operations of the first security agency to assume duty in the infant region.
DOI Gibril mentioned efforts the region was making to prevent and manage fire outbreaks and re-echoed “the need for the provision of the following, Fire and Rescue Appliances, Portable BA Charging Plants, Utility vehicles, Personal protective equipment, Communication gadgets, and additional Personnel.”
A member of the GNFS Council, Mr. Rudolph Kuzeegh commended the Volta Regional Command for its effective operations and asked that the Command continued with the gains achieved so far.
Mr. Kuzeegh said the Council wanted a rebranded Service that would come first among security agencies in the country and charged personnel to put up their best to make that dream a reality.
Source: www.voltaonlinegh.com
