Poor Road Network Hampers Ghana Fire Service Swift Response

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has outlined factors responsible for their late responses to fire incidents across the country.

The issue of late response accounts for greater loss of life and property in fire emergencies in this part of the world and tops concerns whenever a fire incident arises.

The GNFS sometimes deny responding late whenever they are blamed but this time around, they have conceded to their side of the concern with a myriad of reasons.

The service says difficulty in accessing their emergency lines by the public, poor road networks, poor addressing system and disregard for sirens by motorists are some factors accounting for their late response.

“Many people do not know our emergency lines. Safety issues in Africa are quite low. Emergency lines like that of the police and fire service should be displayed at vantage points in every institution or organization.”

“The second factor is our road networks. Sometimes, the nature of the road networks delays our response to emergencies. Another factor is the poor address system. We tend to use landmarks and that is not effective for our quest in fighting fire.”

“The attitude of motorists {is also a factor}. Motorists ignore the blast of the siren.”

Three thousand, eight hundred and nineteen (3,819) fire outbreaks were recorded in the first half of 2023 out of which 1,478 were domestic fires, 636 commercial fires, 559 bush fires, 455 electrical fires, 363 vehicular fires, 168 refuse dump fires, 146 institutional fires and 14 industrial fires.

In January, the country recorded 827 fires, 728 in February, 622 in March, 506 in April, 428 in May, 337 in June and 371 in July.