61 fire personnel died in line of duty within a year

About 61 personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service have died in the last 12 months whilst discharging their duties.

Many firefighters also sustained various degrees of injuries in the year under review, Chief Fire Officer, Edwin Ekow Blankson has said.

He recounted this in a statement issued on Saturday to commemorate the annual International Fire Fighters Day which falls on May 4. The day is set aside to celebrate personnel’s dedication, gallantry, loyalty, dexterity and sacrifices as firefighters and rescuers.

“Some of these deaths can be linked directly to the effects of firefighting. We call them heroes because they have put their lives on the line for fellow citizens and our dear country and their memories will forever live on.

“We express our sincere condolences to the families of these fallen heroes.”

Assuring personnel of the Command’s and government’s “relentless commitment” to meet the needs of firefighters, Edwin Ekow Blankson also encouraged them to remain united as one unit prepared to fight for each other as well as discharge their duties as expected of them.

“Do not compromise your professionalism no matter the challenges but aim always at delivering on a world class firefighting and rescue for our nation,” the Chief Fire Officer admonished.

Prank calls

Mr. Edwin Ekow Blankson repeated concerns of the Service with regards to the numerous false alarms residents place to them.

Between December 24, 2018 and January 2, 2019, the Fire Service was reported to have received, on average, prank calls from 4,000 different phone numbers and 29,700 different calls daily.

“I wish to call on the public to support our effort at reducing fire occurrence by adhering to our fire safety messages and also desist from engaging our hot lines with prank calls,” he reiterated.