Sandema (U/E), Feb. 11, GNA – The Builsa North Municipal Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in the Upper East Region, Assistant Divisional Officer Grade I (ADOI) Jacob Nekasen, has cautioned residents against storing fuel at home.
He said some residents were into the business of buying and retailing fuel, especially petrol, to motorists along roads without filling stations and subsequently stored the petrol in their houses.
That, he said, accounted for some of the domestic fire outbreaks in the Municipality, apart from electrical faults.
“It is a very bad practice and that is what is causing some of these domestic fires and most of them do not know the dangers involved,” he added.
The Commander urged all residents in the Municipality to report persons, who store the fuel for sale in their houses, to officials of the GNFS for appropriate action to forestall any danger.
ADOI Nekasen asked people who leave their Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders in enclosed spaces without ventilation to desist from the practice as any leakage, with little fire, could destroy their houses.
“The best practice is that the gas burner should be inside, and the cylinder placed outside the building with a long tube connecting the burner to the cylinder,” he said.
The Commander said even though fire outbreaks could not be eradicated, the occurrences could be reduced if residents strictly adhere to fire safety protocols.
On fire outbreaks in the Municipality, ADOI Nekasen disclosed that a total of 16 fire outbreaks were recorded in 2021 as compared to about 22 in 2020.
He said out of the total number, seven were bushfires, three domestic, two vehicular, one accident, two electrical and one commercial fire.
ADOI Nekasen said despite the challenges, including issues of malfunctioning hydrants and poor road network, the Service was focused on reducing fire outbreaks through continuous education on fire safety measures.
The mandate of the GNFS, he noted, was basically to protect lives and property, adding that the Service had over the years discharged its mandate through education, translating into the drastic decline in fire outbreaks in the Municipality.
“Anytime we intervene and extinguish any fire situation, we educate residents at the scene. In fact, education after extinguishing the fire is critical to ensure that all safety measures are properly adhered to in homes and at workplaces,” the Commander said.
He called on members of the public to have confidence in the ability of officials of the GNFS to fight a fire, insisting that “We are ever ready to save lives and property, they should have confidence in us, and report any fire outbreak immediately without delay.”
GNA