Businesses must abide by regulations to prevent fire outbreaks – Bureau of Public Safety

The Bureau of Public Safety is admonishing businesses across the country to fully comply with the Fire Precautions (Premises) Regulations L.I. 1724.

According to the bureau, following the regulations will help prevent the frequent occurrence of fire outbreaks especially at business centres in Ghana.

Executive Director of the Bureau, Nana Yaw Akwada believes these loses can be prevented if the L.I. is complied with.

“I think with the issue of fires at workplaces, it’s an ongoing concern. Workplaces must, first of all, ensure that they comply with the demands of the L.I. 1724 requiring that we train at least 40% of our staff in fire prevention and fighting. If 40% of your staff is knowledgeable about how to prevent and fight a fire that is huge insurance to the company. It’s important that we understand that fires happening in the workplace the potential of it to bring down your capital to zero is very high.”

One of the key stories that made the rounds last year were fire-related, particularly due to how frequently they occurred.

In the capital, for instance, just a few days before Christmas, fire gutted the Kaneshie market affecting 9 shops but razed 6 of them.

A few days before that there had also been a fire at the Kantamanto market affecting several shops in the area.

In November last year, there was an outbreak at the GCB Bank Liberty House branch that affected a number of floors of the building. Fortunately, there were no major loses according to management.

On Sunday, January 10, 2021, two separate fires were recorded in the Ashanti Region.

11 shops at the Republic Hall Mini Market at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology were burnt while several shops at a commercial building at the Aboabo station took a hit.

Goods worth millions of Ghana cedis were lost in these two instances.

Cases like these are the reasons why the Bureau of Public Safety believes the Fire Precautions (Premises) Regulations L.I. 1724 must be strictly followed by businesses.

The Fire Precautions (Premises) Regulations L.I. 1724 among other things mandates that persons employed to work on the premises of an entity receive training on what to during fire incidents.