A three-day fire training exercise aimed at educating staff of the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) on how to fight fire at the early stage opened in Accra on Wednesday.

The exercise took the form of lectures and practical demonstrations to make every member of staff aware of the dangers associated with fire in their daily activities at the work place.

Mr Reuben Botchway, Station Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, noted that fire, which was a combination of any kind of material that could burn through ignorance or carelessness among other things could be prevented when individuals knew how best to control it.

He explained that fire safety as well as the effective use of fire extinguishers should be the work of all, and not only for a selected people.

He therefore called on the staff as well as the general public not to pack items in their various offices close to the ignition of fire as it could cause fire outbreak at any given time.

“Do not overload your system with a lot of gadgets, avoid overloading of circuits and misuse of extension boards in your offices.

“Put off all electrical gadgets after work and remove plugs from socket especially during fluctuations,” he advised.

“Another problem is the hiring of the services of untrained electricians who would rather compound the problem,” he said, and advised the staff to raise the alarm whenever a fire started, evacuate their premises and use fire extinguishers.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Dennis Botwe Kyei, Protocol Officer, RGD, explained that the training was key and would be taking place in batches among departments to sensitise staff to take immediate control measures in instances of fire outbreaks, before the firemen arrived.

He lauded the management for the training which he described as educative and entreated his colleagues to get involved for their own benefit.

Mrs Jemima M. Oware, Deputy Registrar – General, said the training was timely especially when there was nearly a fire outbreak at RGD last month.

Members of the Administration, Re-Registration, Audit and Accounts Departments were the first group to undergo the training and were taken through some practical demonstrations on how best to combat fire both at in the office and elsewhere.