Dr Albert Brown Gaisie, Chief Fire Officer, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), has called on authorities to check the abuse of sirens in the metropolis.
According to him, sirens have been abused too much and have created a situation where the public is tired of hearing it; hence when there are serious emergency cases, they refuse to respect the sirens.
The Chief Fire Officer made this call at a press briefing held in Accra by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and GNFS on the prevention of fire.
Dr Brown Gaisie stated that most fires are caused by negligence and carelessness on the part of individuals. According to him, most fires could be prevented if individuals were fire safety conscious and did things in the proper manner when using energy.
The Chief Fire Officer expressed his distaste about the way the GNFS was being blamed for most fire incidents. According to him, his outfit puts out fires, and does not set them.
He charged individuals to ensure that their attitude towards fire issues is changed for the better.
Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), stressed that the AMA is committed to ensuring that fire cases are reduced drastically within the metropolis.
According to him, just this January, 60 fire incidents have been recorded in the metropolis, which is worrying and need to be addressed immediately.
He noted that the Metropolitan Security Committee has come out with some guidelines to curb the surge in cases within the metropolis.
The guidelines, according to the MCE, cover four critical areas identified by the committee as places where fire incidents start: markets, night clubs, bars and casinos, warehouses and community fires.
One critical area under the guidelines for markets is that all illegal connections will be disconnected by the Electricity Company of Ghana and anyone who connects it illegally thereafter will be prosecuted.
For night clubs, bars and casinos, adequate entrance and exit points are to be provided, and post maps and signs are supposed to be put at vantage points.
Warehouses must have trained and certified fire wardens.
For the community, there will be disconnections of illegal electrical connections and all commercial houses should have firefighting equipment, among others.
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