By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, Jan. 23, GNA – The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Tema Region, recorded a total of 616 fire incidents in 2024, reflecting a slight increase from the 533 cases reported in 2023.
Divisional Officer III (DOIII), Ebenezer Yenzu, the GNFS’ Tema Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO), providing a breakdown of the statistics, revealed that 177 domestic fires, 148 commercial, 70 vehicular, 100 electrical, 74 bush, 18 institutional, 24 industrial, and four other fire incidents were handled by his outfit in 2024.
He explained that 36 and 45 domestic fires were recorded in the first and second quarters of 2024, showing a decrease over the documented 44 and 46 domestic fires, respectively, in 2023.
DOIII Yenzu said for the third and fourth quarters of 2024, the region respectively recorded 43 and 53 domestic fires compared to the 46 and 43 recorded within the same period in 2023.
He added that commercial fires for the first and second quarters of 2024 were 36 and 47, while the same period in 2023 recorded 36 and 39, respectively.
He further said that the third and fourth quarters for 2024 saw 25 and 40 cases of commercial fires compared to that of 2023, where both the third and fourth quarters recorded 27 cases each.
The PRO said with vehicular fires, 20 and 12 cases were recorded in the first and second quarters of 2024, while 15 cases each were seen within the same periods in 2023.
According to him, the third and fourth quarters for 2024 vehicular fires were 19 cases each compared to the 15 and 16 seen, respectively, in the third and fourth quarters in 2023.
Touching on electrical fires, DO III Yenzu said 20, 15, 24, and 41 incidents were handled in the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of 2024, respectively, while 2023 saw 26, 15, 13, and 10, respectively, for the same quarters in 2023.
The GNFS Tema PRO further disclosed that bushfire statistics stood at 40, three, 14, and 17 for the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of 2024, respectively, compared to the 30, two, four, and 24 cases, respectively, for the four quarters of 2023.
He said industrial fires for the first and second quarters for 2024 were five and six, as against the three and 11 for 2023, adding that the 2024 third and fourth quarters saw five and eight incidents compared to the four cases each for the same quarters in 2023.
Touching on institutional fires, he noted that seven and five incidents were documented for the first and second quarters of 2024, compared to the two and zero cases handled in the same period in 2023.
He added that institutional fires for the third and fourth quarters of 2024 were one and five, while those of 2023 were one each.
He said other fire cases constituted four and one for the first and second quarters of 2024 as against 2023’s seven, four, two, and one for the four quarters.
GNA