Ghana National Fire Service records 110 cases
Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has recorded a total of 110 fire incidents in the Upper West Region with domestic fires leading with 52 cases.
Statistics received from the GNFS for 2014 showed that rural fires recorded 19 cases; vehicular fires that the GNFS attended to stood at 10 cases, commercial fires recorded eight cases and industrial fires five cases.
The GNFS also attended to 15 accidents scenes and one electrical fire case during the year.
Assistant Divisional Officer I (ADO) Francis Agbaviitor said though the service recorded one electrical fire, most of the domestic, commercial and the industrial fire that occurred were as a result of electrical faults.
He told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that some of the causes of the fires were as a result of faulty electrical parts, power fluctuations, socket overload and the use of substandard electrical parts.
Among others were negligence, carelessness and ignorance, which are attributed to human factor.
Inappropriate installation and use of liquefied petroleum Gas (LPG), dumping of hot ashes in refuse containers and dry grasses, smokers, herdsmen on farm cooking, and hunters, causes bush fires, the refusal to create fire belt around buildings and children having access to matches in the homes were some the causes of fires in various locations.
ADO. Agbaviitor said an estimated amount of GH¢3, 482, 80 were damages cause to properties, while estimated cost of salvaged property stood at GH¢4.457, 910.
Recorded causality cases were 24, with 17 injured persons and seven deaths. Out of the dead, three of them were as a result of domestic fire outbreak at the University for Development Studies, whiles the four were from accident scenes.
ADO Agbaviitor said the GNFS was faced with some challenges among them were the diversion of emergency call on (192) to Tamale, lack of access to fire scenes, inappropriate address to fire scenes and un-adherence to fire safety education by the general public.
The GNFS also has only one operational fire hydrant in the Wa Township and this hinders the operations of the service when there is a fire outbreak.
He called on the public to join hands with the GNFS and also observe basic safety fire prevention measures and road safety regulations to help reduce fire incidents in the Region.
Source: GNA