We lack equipment to effectively fight fires beyond fifth floors - Anaglate

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Prince Billy Anaglate has reiterated the need for government to procure modern firefighting equipment for the service.

According to Mr. Anaglate, the service’s response to emergencies and the skills demonstrated on fire grounds depend on logistics available.

He said, firemen go through hell to fight fires above fifth floor of high-rise buildings due to the lack of a “modern equipment” that can go beyond and reach as far as twenty floors.

“It is important that we get modern firefighting equipment that can take us above twenty floors when the unexpected happens. However, the one that is only up to the fifth floor is what we have now,” he revealed.

Mr. Anaglate’s comments follow the challenges firefighters had to face in dealing with a fire incident on the tenth floor of Job 600, a building that serves as offices for Members of Parliament.

According to reports, firemen had to use the stairs when they got to the fifth floor because the turntable ladder could not reach the tenth floor where the fire was.

However, Mr. Anaglate said, despite the challenges with logistics, his men were still up to the task in dealing with the fires because it is their responsibility to do so in any situation.