B/A Regional Fire Officer calls for more support from fire volunteers

The Regional Fire Officer for Brong-Ahafo, Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO), Kwame Frimpong, had emphatically stated that, without the efforts of the Region’s Fire Volunteer, the success of the Anti-Bush Fire campaign, would have been a different story.

The Criminologist Fire Officer, who once served in the Ghana Army after passing out from the then Boy’s Company, read law at the prestigious, New York City College in the USA, and had his Internship as Criminologist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.

He returned to Ghana, to work with the Department of Social Welfare and was in charge of the Juvenile Court in Accra, before settling for his present job with the Ghana National Fire Service as the first Ghanaian to join the Service with a Second degree.

This high profile eloquent Fire Officer stated that the Anti-Bush fire campaign is different from bushfire control and does not need fire service officers. He said that his Regional outfit had trained fire volunteers in the region, and can mobilize 500 volunteers within 5 hours when the need arises.

Mr. Kwame Frimpong told me that he has opened an office for the Volunteers at the Regional Fire Headquarters in Sunyani which is manned by the volunteers. He said the Region’s fire volunteers group, work as a non-Governmental organisation. He therefore called on the government and individuals to support them with the provision of logistics to help them in the discharged of their services. He further revealed that his outfit had given special training in Rescue Operations to about 90% of the volunteers who are mostly peasant farmers.

Mr Kwame Frimpong lamented over instances where some people called at his office to give false information about fire outbreaks and warned such false alarmist to desist from such unhealthy practice.

On the strength of his personnel, he said at the moment, he has 350 men and women spread over the 14 districts in the region which is grossly inadequate. He therefore appealed for more fire personnel to be posted to the region.

On logistics to help in the discharge of their duties, he remarked that, there is more to be done, adding that as at the moment, there are no fire tenders at Atebubu, Japekrom, Yeji and Goaso and called on the Regional Co-ordinating Council to help them to rehabilitate the four broken down fire tenders to supplement the 8 brand new fire tenders which has been allocated to the region.

An Academician that he is, Mr. Kwame Frimpong, expressed sadness over the low academic qualification of most the fire personnel throughout the country and called on them to undertake private courses to upgrade their knowledge.