About 98% of fire outbreaks are preventable – GNFS

About 98 percent of fire outbreaks recorded in the country could be prevented as they are due to human negligence, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has said.

Mr Joseph Amihere, Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipal Fire Commander who made this assertion noted, for instance, that the majority of domestic fires were caused by overloaded multi-sockets, gas cylinder leakages among other human-induced causes, which could easily be prevented.

He was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on measures put in place ahead of the Christmas festivities.

In this Christmas season, Mr Amihere admonished Ghanaians to be extra careful with their gas cylinder connections as well as the use of electrical gadgets at home.

“We should not overload our multi-sockets; we always have to make sure we unplug pressing irons before attending to phone calls. These little things will prevent fires in our homes”, he said

The Municipal Fire Commander expressed worry about the continuous increase in domestic fires and encouraged Ghanaians to be more safety-conscious by taking precautionary measures to prevent fire outbreaks.

He said the GNFS would continue to monitor the various markets at night to make sure everything was in order and undertake house-to-house education on fire outbreaks and how to avoid it in the festive season to ensure an incident-free Christmas.

Mr Amihere further advised farmers who normally go to the farm at dawn to clad themselves in multi-colored attires to avoid being knockdown by vehicles.

Source: GNA