Public curiosity a major setback to emergency response – fire officer

Mr Obeng Dwamena, Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Ashanti, has cautioned the public against storming disaster and crime scenes, saying such acts could be risky.

He said the tendency for the public to satisfy their curiosity during disasters were on the increase leading to overcrowding of the areas and also hampering the work of the emergency response teams like the police and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).

Mr Dwamena who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi on Friday said satisfying curiosity during such fire outbreaks also pave ways for criminals to operate and appeal to the populace to desist from such acts.

He also called on motorists and other road users to pull to the right and stop for a few seconds to give way to emergency vehicles, which may be speeding to get to disaster scenes to save lives and property.

He indicated that there was the need for people to obey road regulations that could lead to safety on our roads as well as obey fire safety precautionary measures that stands the chance of reducing the incidents of fire outbreaks in the country.

Mr Dwamena said since fire safety is everybody’s business, there was the need for stakeholders to contribute their quota to fire prevention to prolong lives.

He mentioned that his outfit had intensified public education in schools in the region to create awareness among school children on how to help reduce incidences of fire especially domestic fire, which keeps recording high figures.

The Regional Fire Officer indicated that plans were far advanced to prosecute false callers who keep disturbing and wasting resources when they respond to such vain calls and appealed to such people to desist from such uncouth behaviour.

Source: GNA