He said without this basic fire equipment in place, fires that could have been quenched at the beginning to prevent escalation, could easily spread and become a major disaster that would cause a lot of people their lifetime investments.

Mr. Amartey who made the appeal during a fire simulation exercise at the premises of MTN office in Wa stated that Legislative Instrument (LI) 1724 required them to have fire certification which require such organisations to acquire the basic fire fighting tools.

He stressed on the need for people to contact the GNFS for advise when acquiring these basic fire fighting equipment to avoid buying fake products that would not help them in case of fire outbreaks.

The Deputy Upper West Regional Fire Commander said the focus of the service now was not on fire fighting as a response mechanism but rather prevention as a means to properly safeguard lives and property.

Mr. Amartey explained that the simulation exercise was an ongoing process which involved the identification of areas based on hazards for the exercise. He said this time they decided to carry out the exercise at the premises of MTN because of the congested nature of the area, adding that it enabled them exposed the people to the reality in terms of fire outbreak.

Statistically, Mr. Amartey said a total of 63 fire cases were recorded in the first quarter of 2017 while the second and third quarters recorded a total of 31 and 22 cases respectively with bushfires being the leading contributor.He pointed out that even though the law required that all vehicles should carry fire extinguishers, vehicle owners were not heeding to such regulation and said it was the cause of the increasing number of vehicular fires in the region.

He said with the onset of the dry season, it was bound to increase in the last quarter and appealed to people in the region to be very careful in handling naked flames.   The Deputy Upper West Regional Fire Commander also appealed to the public to organise their homes and other public places, saying it was very easy for fire to spread in a disorganized place than an area which was organised.

He noted that timely and relevant information was critical to fire fighting and appealed to the public to report fire incidents quickly to enable fire personnel respond adequately.  Mr. Amartey also advised the public to endeavour to use qualified and competent electricians to handle their electrical problems to avoid any related fire outbreaks.