He urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) to collaborate effectively with the Service in this regard. Mr Quao said this at the launch of the anti-bush fire campaign organized by the Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) project in collaboration with the Ghana National Fire Service and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture at Bussie in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District.

Tradition rulers, students, women and farmers groups among others attended the launch which was under the theme, “Say no to bush burning”. The event was part of the Feed the Future initiative with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Mr Quao said the Service was determined to carry out its mandate of fire prevention but was crippled by logistical and financial constraints. He said said bush fires had no benefit for the people rather than compounding their problem of poverty and called on the general public, irrespective of their social status, to join forces to fight against the canker.

He said from January 2013 to November 2016, the Service has responded to 88 incidents of bushfires, 302 domestic fires and 84 commercial fires which had caused damages estimated at 1,711,520.9 Ghana Cedis.   “Our biodiversity, which is crucial to our survival, is on constant threat as a result of indiscriminate bush burning”, he said, adding: “posterity will not forgive us for doing so little today to protect the environment which is our legacy from total destruction”.