The Central Region Office of the Ghana National Fire Service has appealed for the establishment of more stations to reduce response time for efficient and effective services.
DOIII Abdul Wasiu Hudu, the Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO), said the 19 fire stations in the region were inadequate, compelling the service to travel long distances to attend to distress calls.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), he said the distances travelled increased response time for which reason some of the incidents went out of hand before arrival.
“For instance, our officers in Cape Coast move as far as Jukwa and those in Mankessim move to Ekumfi to attend to cases.
“If a fire starts and it is not controlled within the first four minutes, it usually goes out of control.
“And so, we need more fire stations and equipment to help us attend to fire cases easily and in time,” he appealed.
On fire cases last year, DOIII Hudu said 664 fire incidents were recorded compared to 570 cases the previous year, representing an increase of 16.5 per cent.
Of the figure 159 were bushfires, majority of which were caused by farmers and hunters, compared to 114 in 2022.
However, none of the incidents was fatal unlike in 2022, where two people died in the 570 cases recorded.
DOIII Abdul Wasiu Hudu said although it was normal to see a rise in fire incidents as settlements expanded, the rate of increase was worrying.
He said domestic fires also rose to 234 in 2023 from 195 in 2022, observing that many of them were caused by electrical faults, mostly because of poor wiring, and LPG accidents.
DOIII Hudu, expressing disquiet over the incidence, stated that fire safety was a shared responsibility and entreated the public to religiously follow all protocols to stay safe.
