Join Hands  To Prevent Market Fires  - Assistance Weija Divisional Fire Officer

The Assistant Fire Service Divisional Officer Grade Two of Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region, Mrs Belinda Yaro, has educated the residents, particularly the market folks in the Anyaa Sowutuom constituency of Ga Central Municipality on the current trends of fire outbreaks in Ghana and ways to prevent such incidences.

She took the residents through the causes, mechanisms, as well as preventive measures against the fire menace.

According to her, the fire incidents have become a regular occurrence, with thousands of lives and millions of Ghana cedis lost every year and called for cooperation and joint exercises by way of taking technical measures to prevent fires incidence in the area.

She asserted that hardly a day passes without news of a fire outbreak in some part of Ghana, causing fear and panic among the people.

This, according to her, generates much discussion centring on rumours relating to politics, sabotage, misfortune, religious differences, etc. 

She contended that this increase was attributed to several factors: rate of population growth and industrialization, unstable electricity, urbanization, negligence, illegal electrical connection.

She mentioned that the cause of the fire was categorized into domestic, industrial, vehicular, institutional, electrical, commercial, bush, and others.

Among these causes, she asserted that domestic fire accounted for 41% of the total number of fire incidents in the country.

She made several recommendations to help prevent and mitigate fire incidents in Ghana and urged the market folk(s), particularly the woman to heed the advice on fire safety to prevent unforeseen fire incidence in their various selling centres.

Mrs Yaro made these calls when about 105 youth of the first barge in Fire Acadamy enrolled by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Anyaa Sowutuom Constituency, Dr Adomako Kissi displayed during a health screening and donation programme organized in Anyaa Polyclinic Bus Terminal.

Mrs Yaro stated that the fire academy was set up with the aimed avoiding fire devastating impact on lives and properties in the area.

She explained that the Fire Academy of Anyaa Sowutuom with the help will be regularly and adequately able to detect fires and offer first aid.

Mrs Yaro recommended that managers of the markets must ensure fires used for cooking and wares are segregated.

On her part, the Anyaa Sowutuom New Patriotic Party (NPP) Woman Organizer, Mrs Rosemond Addai hailed Dr Adomako Kissi for his support to the youth in the Anyaa-Sowutuom constituency.

  Freeman Koryekpor Awlesu Greater Accra Regional Correspondent