Yendi Municipality gets new Fire Tender

Yendi (NR), July 15, GNA - The Yendi Municipal Chief Executive (MCE)= , Mr Issah Zakaria has handed over a new Fire Tender and its accessories to the Yendi Municipal office of the Ghana National Fire Service GNFS) at a short ceremony in Yendi.

The tender is well equipped with communication equipment for public education on Disaster, a tanker which can contain 225 litres of water, and a chamber which contains liquid to put off fuel fire, among others. In a speech, Mr Zakaria on behalf of the Traditional Authority and people of the Municipality, expressed gratitude to Government for enhancing the capacity of the GNFS to fight fire disasters in the area. He said the Fire Tender formed part of the 54 fire engines recently acquired by Government at a cost of 49 million dollars under a loan facilit= y granted by the US Exim Bank.

Mr Zakaria indicated that the Fire Tender was to serve Yendi Municipality, Zabzugu/Tatale, Saboba, Gusheigu, Chereponi, Nanumba North an= d South Districts of the Eastern Corridor of Northern Region wherever there was an outbreak of fire. The MCE advised personnel of the GNFS to take good care of the new machine and to ensure that it was used for the purpose it had been allocated.

He expressed displeasure about the decision to send the old fire tende= r to Tamale, the regional capital, saying the situation would put too much pressure on the new machine which would have to cover all the other Districts in the Eastern Corridor.

He therefore appealed to the Management of GNFS to let the Yendi Municipal office of the Service to continue to retain the old Tender. He warned staff of the GNFS not to use the fire tender to fetch water for the public as was being alleged nationwide. The Yendi Divisional Fire Officer, Mr Alfred Sulemana Braimah expresse= d his appreciation to the government and the Yendi Municipal Assembly for the allocation of the fire machine to his office. He said the Municipality and the GNFS had been handicapped since the old fire tender broke down.

He recalled that in the recent past, the Yendi Municipality had recorded five fire outbreaks, including domestic and electrical fires, one of which burnt down the Yendi Government Hospital Laundry building and all its machines. He indicated that with support from the Evangelical Presbyterian Development and Relief Agency (EPDRA), the Saboba-Chereponi District Assembly and the Yendi Municipal Assembly, his outfit had been able to establish a number of Fire Volunteer squads in the area. Mr Braimah gave the assurance that his outfit would take good care of the Fire Tender since it was going to enable them to operate more efficiently.

In another development, the Yendi MCE received six refuse containers from ZoomLion Ghana Limited for renting. The Yendi Municipal Coordinating Director Alhaji Shahu Kadri advised the residents to ensure that all rubbish collected from various sections of the Municipality was put into the containers which were to be allocated to sections of the Municipality which had no containers. He warned the public to desist from pouring ashes with fire into the refuse containers.