Mamponghene commends GNFS - calls for it to be resourced

The Mamponghene, Daasebre Osei Bonsu, has commended the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) for the good work it has been rendering to the public in spite of its limited resources.

He noted that because of the competition for land, there was an upsurge in the construction of high-rise buildings in the country, particularly in Accra and Kumasi, which had brought in its wake devastating fires the GNFS had had to contend with. 

He said the Mampong Traditional Council was very much aware of the challenges those new developments posed to the GNFS, since accessibility to those buildings was difficult and the GNFS had no equipment to reach the height of those new structures.

Daasebre Osei Bonsu made the commendation when a delegation of the Command of the GNFS, led by the Chief Fire Officer, Dr Albert Brown Gaisie, paid a courtesy call on him at Mampong last Friday.

He said the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs had seen the good works of the Chief Fire Officer and expressed the hope that he would be given assistance by his lieutenants to educate the people on the dangers of fires.

Support

“The traditional authorities will continue to support the GNFS with office and residential accommodation  within the constraints of our resources but be fair in the distribution of the national cake because the Command of the Service cannot keep all the resources in Accra,” Daasebre Osei Bonsu said.

He stressed that the time had come for the GNFS to be well resourced and added that while the traditional authorities were aware of efforts to equip the service, what had been done was not enough. 

He, for instance, recalled the destruction of the former Foreign Affairs building in Accra by fire and said such monumental structures should not be allowed to go down in flames just because, at the time, the GNFS had no turntable ladder that would enable the service to effectively deal with the situation.

Chief Fire Officer

Dr Gaisie thanked the Mampong Traditional Council for its appreciation for the work of GNFS and said the commendation from Daasebre Osei Bonsu would spur him and his team on to do more.

He expressed regret that in an effort to secure themselves from robbers, people ended up barricading and trapping themselves to death in their own homes in the event of fire outbreak. 

Dr Gaisie noted that the practice was very common in Mampong and described it as a potential threat to safety. 

He said when a thief entered one’s premises, he picked what was important to him, “but fire does not discriminate as it will sweep everything in sight, including humans”. 

He, therefore, advised people to be more cautious of their safety.

The Chief Fire Officer acknowledged the efforts of some chiefs to help the GNFS and made mention of the Tepahene, Ejurahene and the Duayaw Nkwantahene who had also donated parcels of land to the GNFS. 

Dr Gaisie said the Ejura land would be used for the construction of a Fire Service Command College, the Tepa land for Fire Volunteers School and the Duayaw Nkwanta land for a Fire Service Training School for the northern sector of the country.

On behalf of the Fire Service Council, Command and Officers and men of the service, Dr Gaisie donated GH¢1,000 each to the bereaved families of the Mampong and Santase fire victims.  

Recall

On June 2, this year, the people of Mampong in the Ashanti Region were thrown into a state of shock and grief when seven persons, six belonging to the same family, were burnt to death at dawn.

A fortnight later, on June 16, three persons, including a final-year junior high school (JHS) student, were burnt to death at Santasi, a suburb of Kumasi, when fire engulfed the room in which they were sleeping.