By Hafsa Obeng, GNA
Accra, Oct. 11, GNA – Mr Ambrose Dery,
Minister for the Interior, has called for public education on the operations of
the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to help them understand the operations
better.
He said the public must be enlightened to be
patient with Fire Service Officers rather than attacking personnel because of
alleged delayed response to a fire, accident or purported wrong technique in
fighting the fire or rescuing victims.
Mr Dery made this observation at the
graduation ceremony of Cadet Intake XV as Officers of the GNFS on Friday in
Accra.
He noted that the government was very
concerned about physical attacks on firefighters in the discharge of their
duties.
The most recent ones being the attack and
injury of three (3) firefighters at Dawhenya, Afianya Junction and an attack on
the fire engine and personnel at Asamankese.
“The security services are in partnership with
the general public in their quest to deliver quality service to the citizenry,
and therefore we must be patient with them.
He also mentioned that the management of fires
must see a change in view of technological sophistication and global warming,
as inhalation of fumes was a serious occupational hazard to Fire Service
Officers.
He said many firefighters have suffered a lot
of strange diseases later in life after continuous inhalation of poisonous
fumes from fires, and as such government was committed to providing personal
protective clothing for all firefighters to ameliorate the situation.
The sector Minister said capacity building
continued to be a key aspect of improving the service delivery of the GNFS to
the good people of Ghana, and as such a Memorandum of Understanding had been
signed with the University of Cape Coast, specifically the Forensic Science department
to train officers in Forensic Fire Investigations.
“All the 320 officer cadets graduating today
have been taken through the programme and are all successful, as a result, they
will be awarded certificates by the University. And 250 officers selected from
all the 17 Administrative Regions of the Service would also be trained in Basic
Forensic Fire Investigations in a bid to build the capacity of our officers in
fire investigations.”
He further indicated that 20 young officers,
10 males and 10 females had successfully completed their training at the
International Safety Training Centre (ISTC) in Malta, three Assistant
Divisional Officers have completed a one-year Masters Programme in Fire Safety
Engineering programme at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), United
Kingdom.
Mr Dery said the Service would also take
delivery of command vehicles for Directors in a few days to boost their morale,
adding that the package would trickle down to Regional Fire Commanders and
eventually Metropolitan, Municipal and District Fire Commanders.
He congratulated the graduands on their smart
turn out and how far you had come through the rigorous training to be called
Fire Officers, and advised that as they walked out of the Training School
today, they must keep in mind the core values taught by the Institution and let
them be their guiding principles for their career.
“As security officers, I entreat you to exhibit
a high sense of maturity and discipline acquired from your training even in
your residential areas to serve as good role models for civilians in your
communities.”
He also commended personnel of the service for
the high sense of professionalism exhibited over the years in the area of
firefighting, road traffic extrication and good fire safety education rolled
out countrywide, which has led to the current reduction in the spate of fires
in the country.
“Fire safety is a way of life, hence the
necessity to embrace good fire safety practices in our homes, offices, markets
and wherever we find ourselves. Needless
to say, that fire safety would protect lives and property.”
Four out of the 320 graduands comprising of
107 women and 213 men were honoured for excelling in specific areas throughout
the training.
Officer Cadet George Adawu received the
Overall Best Award, while Officer Cadet Selma Akosua Dokua Mensah received the
Commandants Awards and Officer Cadet Emmanuel Adu Boachie received the best in
Foot Drill Award. Best in Academics Award went to Officer Cadet Eugene Okpoti
Ashong.
GNA
