Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) is boiling with rage over the failure of management of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) to implement fire safety audit recommendations.
This is in the wake of a recent fire outbreak which gutted three offices at the Pharmaceutical Department of KBTH which led to the destruction of computers, air-conditioners and furniture.
But, according to GNFS, that fire incident could have been averted if authorities at the KBTH had implemented fire safety measures recommended to them in 2014.
Expressing these worries in an interview with Radio Gold in Accra on Friday, February 20, 2015, the Acting deputy Public Relations Officer (PRO) of GNFS, Mr. Prince Anaglatey, said when top officials of GNFS went to the hospital after that fire outbreak; they realised that the hospital had failed to comply with fire safety recommendations.
"We identified that Korle Teaching Hospital which is one of the biggest health providing institutions in Ghana, did not have firefighting facilities at the various wards of the hospital.
"...this is very dangerous so the authorities of the hospital should sit up and do something about this worrying situation," Mr. Anaglatey advised.
According to him, the fire safety measures were to ensure that fire hydrants, including branch pipe were provided to facilitate firefighting, engage the services of qualified and certified electricians for maintenance.
Other recommendations, Mr. Anaglatey said, included the installation of warning systems at the hospital to detect unusual rise in temperature and trigger an alarm for quick response, replace old electrical sockets with new ones and organise training sessions for staff on fire safety prevention.
He stressed that firefighting should be a collective responsibility and that all must come on board to address the issue.
To this end, he implored heads of the departments of the hospital to adhere to GNFS recommendations so as to prevent any future fire outbreak.
Mr. Anaglatey further suggested to management of KBTH to always liaise with the Fire Service for prompt and quick response.
He advised fire safety officers at hospitals and various government departments to ensure regular practices on fire safety as well as exit directional signs in case of emergency.
“Having a fire extinguisher in place is not enough to fight fire but more importantly training staff on how to use the equipment and ensure its maintenance for effective fire protection and prevention is key,“ he added.
He also revealed that the recent fire outbreak at KBTH was as result of obsolete electrical wires at the hospital which was built about 90 years ago.
"It is very dangerous for Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for this long time not to have changed all its electrical wires which were installed about 90 years ago. It is worrying that the hospital does not have adequate exit points for escape in the event that there is a fire outbreak," Mr. Anaglatey expressed.
According to Mr. Anaglatey, GNFS found it difficult to put out the Korle Bu fire as there were many barricades at the offices of the hospital. “There were burglar proofs at the windows and the few exit points at the hospital were locked with padlocks,” he pointed out.
He added: “though management of KBTH was trying to curb pilfering, they must be mindful of the safety of staff during emergencies.”
Meanwhile when Today reached the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Mr. Mustapha Salifu, on Saturday, February 21, 2015, he refuted the allegation to the effect that there was no firefighting facility in the hospital as claimed by Mr. Anaglatey.
According to him, KBTH has a state-of-the-art facility headed by Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Samuel Nana Brenya.
He also denied the assertion that the fire safety measures recommended to the hospital were not implemented.
However, he said those measures were under consideration for effective implementation.
"My friend look (referring to this reporter,) it would take some time to effectively implement fire safety recommendations made to the hospital because of the technicalities involved," he stressed.
Mr. Salifu, however, expressed worry over the fire outbreak and assured the hospital’s readiness to comply with the recommendations by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer of GNFS, Mr. Ebenezer Simpson.
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