The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has secured a 300-acre parcel of land in the Mion district for the establishment of a Fire Service Training College in the Northern Region. The training school when completed will enhance the skills of the firefighting personnel in the north.
Mr. Hudu Baba, Assistant Divisional Officer (ADOI) confirmed in an interview that the processes are currently ongoing to secure the land located at Sambu, a community in the Mion district for the purposes of the training school.
“This land is supposed to be used to construct the facility to cater for fire training college. Fire training college is an institution part of the service to further give training to firefighters across the country and if possible across the West African sub region” he stated.
He said the necessary paperwork is being done now by management of the GNFS to formalize the documentation secure the parcel of land.
Mr. Hudu Baba stressed that the facility will serve as an educational institution where prospective firefighters will go to acquire the requisite skills and knowledge on how to prevent fires.
“It is very significant and important to be sited in this part of our country because when you look at the Northern Region and our national capital which is Accra, everything is centered in Accra. It is just recently that the service and the government have considered to construct other avenues in other parts of the country. We have another one that is ongoing at Kyebi where that one also seek to provide more or less like the same services including training and one is also ongoing at the North East Region” he disclosed.
However, Mr. Hudu Baba said the North East Region project situated at Walewale will solely serve as a training school similar to the one at James Town in Accra where fresh recruits go for their training and come out with firsthand knowledge in firefighting.
ADOI Hudu Baba said just like their compatriots in the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana National Fire Service can also now recruit more personnel into the various training schools.
“However, the difference between the training school and the training college is that, the training college is an environment for further studies into firefighting. And so we have been hearing rumors that some influential persons are trying to use their influence to divert the project at Mion to the North East Region and we want correct this impression because it is a negative impression which shouldn’t be so.
“The training school at Walewale is a different project compared to what we would get at Mion and because that the land secured is about 300-acre land” he clarified.