GNFS receives 11 command vehicles and two 34 seater buses

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.