Divisional Officer Grade I (DOI) Timothy Osafo-Affum, Deputy Tema Regional Fire Commissioner, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the Ghana Water Company which used to repair and maintain the hydrants says it was the responsibility of city authorities.

He noted that if the situation was not solved, it could negatively affect the services of the GNFS in the Region, adding that without the hydrants, fighting fires would be difficult and prolonged.

He added that the hydrants provided uninterrupted flow of water for firefighting, but without them, Fire Officers would have to search for water before getting to the scene to fight fire to save lives and properties.

The Deputy Commissioner further stated that even if the fire hydrants were available but water was not flowing through them, it would not serve its purpose in times of emergency and therefore appealed to the Ghana Water Company to ensure they are always operational.

He indicated that even though there must be a fire hydrant in every 100 metre range, most communities do not have one, while containers and stores had been placed on the available ones.

Meanwhile, the Tema Regional Office of the GNFS recorded an increase of two fires in the total record of 462 in 2016 compared to the 460 in 2015. The 2016 total fires comprised of 177 domestic, 60 vehicular, 22 industrial, 6 institutional, and 73 commercial fires.Thirty-three of the fires were electrical, 79 bush fires, 6 refuse dump fires, 4 oil spillages, 2 gas leakages and no marine fires.

The statistics showed that one death was recorded as a result of the fires in 2016 while 67 people got injured.