By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, Aug. 21, GNA – The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) Tema Regional Command Safety Department has urged institutions and companies to adhere to fire safety procedures to reduce outbreaks in the country.
Divisional Officer Grade III (DOIII) Nancy Amaka officer in charge of the Safety Department expressed concern about the flagrant disregard for our safety, stressing “security and safety must go hand-in-hand, it is suicidal to play security above safety, when you build a house only with security in mind, in case of emergency, you will notice that you have limited safety exit point”.
DOIII Amaka stated after leading a three-member GNFS Fire Risk Assessment Audit team to Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office to conduct a risk assessment, stressing that putting a fire prevention plan in place can significantly reduce the extent of damage that a fire can cause and help to avert one from breaking out in the first place.
“As part of the assessment we outline fire emergency evacuation plan details with the institution on how staff, throughout the building, can exit in a safe and appropriate manner,” she said.
Addressing the GNA Tema Regional officials after the audit which was also conducted at Plan B FM, and GBC Obonu FM, and other media houses in Tema including the Graphics Group Communication, and the New Times Corporation, she called for proactive engagement with the service.
DOIII Amaka said the aim of carrying out a Fire Risk Assessment is to remove or reduce the risk of hazards and to determine what safety measures are needed to ensure the safety of everyone in the building. There are various things to consider, including fire detection and warning systems.
“Fire risk assessment is an organized look at what, in your work activities and workplace, could cause harm to people from fire. It will help determine the chances of a fire occurring and the dangers of fire that the workplace poses for the people who use it.
“We have done this auditing over and over, recommendations have been written, reports have been sent, you go back the following year and you realize that most of the things that were recommended had not been put in place,” she said.
She said the failure of some people to adhere to safety measures, for both private and commercial facilities, to prevent fire incidences was worrying.
She noted that adhering to safety practices contributed immensely to the growth of the economy and encouraged Ghanaians to call on the Service in cases of fire outbreaks.
She said while the Service was devising measures to reduce fire outbreaks, it needed support from the public for the efforts to succeed and called on both private and public institutions to request the GNFS risk assessment, if necessary, to prevent any unforeseen occurrence.
Assistant Divisional Officer Grade II (ADOII), William S. K. Klebeti, said the audit was to identify the various fire hazards with the institutions and companies to indicate the necessary recommendations to them adding that it was also to assess knowledge on some of the workers on some equipment they use.
GNA