Fire Service personnel taking our jobs – Association cries
Members of the Fire Protection Association of Ghana, have expressed concern about the involvement of fire service personnel in providing direct fire protection services to clients.
They said under the law, fire service inspectors were only mandated to examine the services of providers and not to directly engage in those activities.
They said it was now common to see fire inspectors installing fire protection equipment such as fire extinguishers for clients and that was in contravention of the law.
This was made known on Thursday during an open forum organised by the Accra Region of the Ghana National Fire Service as part of its safety week celebration in Accra.
The practice of the fire service personnel, the members noted, was denying them jobs as clients preferred to deal with fire service officials on the grounds of competency.
The members also complained about the cumbersome process they had to go through to acquire fire certificates.
Mr Alexander Kofie, General Secretary, Fire Protection Association of Ghana, called for better collaboration with the GNFS in order to educate both members of the Association and fire inspectors on their roles to enhance delivery of better services for clients.
Mr Kofie also urged the members to endeavor to make themselves available for training on their jobs in order to win the confidence of clients.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) Kwame Kwarteng, who is the Accra Regional Commander, GNFS, urged the members of the Association to report such cases to his office.
“I will create a complaints desk at my office where you can lodge your complaints and I can assure you that your details would be treated confidentially”, he said.
He called on all to support the work of the GNFS to help curb instances of fire outbreaks in our communities.
The Fire Safety Week, which was under the theme: “Fire Safety – the Role of the Citizenry,” is celebrated annually to sensitize the public on the need to prevent fire outbreaks.
Source: GNA