By
Samira Larbie/ Elizabeth Awinbono, GNA
Accra, Dec 3, GNA –
Mr Ambrose Dery, the Minister for the Interior has handed over 11 command
vehicles and two 34-seater buses to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in
Accra.
It would be used to
ensure the proactiveness of the current command to combat fire outbreaks.
Speaking at the 13th
Directors and Regional Commanders conferences of the Ghana National Fire
Service, the Minister said government was committed to providing the needed
infrastructure the service needed and was also making strenuous efforts to
extend fire cover to all parts of the country including; newly created
districts.
The conference was dubbed
“Modernisation of the Ghana National Fire Service, the Panacea for Effective
Fire Fighting and Rescue”.
To sharpen the
skills of personnel, the Minister said a number of personnel had the
opportunity to undergo refresher and capacity building courses both in- house
and international level.
He assured them that
the Ministry was working to ensure that administrative regulations were
transformed into a Legislative Instrument.
“The process has
begun and it is my hope that come early next year, the document will come on
steam to ensure better conditions of service for the hard working personnel of
the service”.
He advised the
Directors and Regional Commanders to continue to improve the image of the
service with innovation and policies that were aimed at ensuring the provision
of an efficient and effective world class fire-fighting and rescue service to
the people of Ghana and work with the legislative instruments. L.I 2249, (2016).
“This is of prime
importance to the Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for managing
the internal security of the country. It is therefore our responsibility to
ensure safety in consonance with Mr President’s goal to make each person in
Ghana feel safe.”
He called on the
public to support them and encouraged them to take fire safety education
seriously.
“Fire safety is a
shared responsibility and can be achieved through effective collaboration and
everyone has the responsibility to ensure their own safety and should never be
compromised”.
Mr Edwin Ekow
Blankson, Chief Fire Officer commended the Minister and the President for
making the long awaited dream a reality.
Touching on professionalism,he
said the GNFS was collaborating with the Department of Forensic Science of
University of Cape Coast to train personnel in Forensic Fire Investigation
adding that they were also in discussions with land owners of the proposed site
for the Fire Service Academy and Training School at Dodowa to fast-track
acquisition of the land.
GNA