A visit by the Times yesterday to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) Headquarters in Accra revealed the appalling condition of most of the tenders’ backup appliances, ambulances and command vehicles.
An assistant Divisional Officer in charge of Headquarters Sub-Station District Training, Percy Odoi Annan, who conducted the Times round to see the grounded vehicles, described the situation as serious and a time bomb which required urgent attention.
He said considering the springing up of high rise buildings in the cities, particularly in Accra, Tema and Kumasi, it will be appropriate that GNFS was provided with state-of-the-art firefighting equipment and vehicles so that it could respond speedily to emergencies.
For instance, Mr. Annan said, only five fire fighting vehicles were in good condition at the 12 fire stations and a fire post in the Greater Accra region. The situation, Mr. Annan said, was no different at the other regions.
In the case of Eastern Region, he said, out of the 18 stations, only four vehicles were in stable condition and in Brong Ahafo, only four out of the 16 stations had tenders and tankers.
In Tamale, three out of the eight stations have vehicles.
In the Upper West region, two out of six stations have the tenders.
Though in the Upper East Region, all the four stations have water tankers that of the Municipal station leaks badly.
President J.E.A Mills, on a visit to the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thursday, to assess extent of damage caused by a fire outbreak, touched on the need to equip the fire service.
