Ashanti records 908 fire disasters

A total of 908 fire disasters were reported in Ashanti in the first 10 months of this year, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), has announced.

Divisional Officer Grade Three (DO 3) David Sam Afful,  Ashanti Regional Safety Officer, said the disasters claimed 100 lives and left 150 others hurt.

Speaking at a day’s safety education held for about 1,000 selected school children in the Kumasi Metropolis, he said it was completely unacceptable, the situation where an average of 20 fires occurred in the region every week.

The campaign comes amid stepped-up efforts by the GNFS to significantly bring down the incidence of fires as the nation inched closer to the dry season

Mr Afful urged the people to heed safety education to end the trauma, pain and misery that many continued to suffer.

He advised the kids not to play with matches, naked fire, or overload electrical outlets, and to make sure that computer game plugs and other appliances were disconnected and removed from the sockets when not in use.

He advised them not to underestimate the dangers of fire, in order  to keep themselves and their families safe.

He called for more protection for children, saying they must not be put in harm’s way, by asking them to warm food, toast bread and others, using electrical gadgets.

The kids were taken through practical demonstration on how to tame fire with an extinguisher.

Source: GNA