Mr Ekow Blankson, the Chief Fire Officer (CFO), who made this known, said procurement of command vehicles, rapid intervention vehicles and many other equipment that are of importance to the Service would be procured to enable them deliver on their mandate.

The CFO said this during the GNFS festival of nine lessons and carols held in Accra to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.

He said plans are far advanced for cadet officers to undergo a course in public safety which would lead to the award of an advance professional certificate in public safety from the University of Energy and Natural Resources.

Mr Blankson said with support from the Maltese Ambassador to Ghana, 40 officers would undertake a course in Malta in February 2019 to enhance their capacity. 

He said management of the GNFS would continue to build the capacity of personnel both locally and internationally to properly position the service to confront modern challenges associated with fire fighting.

“In addition the welfare of all officers will see a dramatic change in the coming years as we push for the passage of the GNFS Administration Regulations in a Legislative Instrument,” Mr Blankson said.

He, however, urged officers to resist the temptation of going to the press to fight for their rights but rather resort to the peaceful laid down procedure to seek redress for their grievances.

The CFO said the attitude of some officers towards work has not been encouraging and advised them to dedicate and show greater commitment to the GNFS in the coming year.

Mr Blankson said as at the end of November 2018, the Service had responded 4,957 fire outbreaks which was an increase of 19.2 percent over last year’s record of 4,005 at the same period.

He said the GNFS also recorded 48 deaths which was unprecedented in the history of the service, adding that, “they will continue to intensify educational drive to reduce these occurrences to barest minimum”. 

The CFO advised the public to be mindful of the type of electrical appliances they purchase this Christmas season as it had proven to be a major cause of fire outbreak in the country.

Mr Blankson also called on parents to supervise their children and ensure that they do not play with electrical gadgets and also be mindful of domestic use of fire to ensure incident free Christmas celebrations.

“Let us ensure that this year’s Christmas celebration will be fire free,” he said.

The CFO urged the public to contact the fire service as soon as possible in case of an outbreak before it gets out of hand. 

The event was marked with scripture readings, musical performances, a sermon, prayer sessions for the country, the President and Vice, Ministers, the GNFS, the security service and the citizenry.