Fire Officers need insurance cover, rent allowance - Ex- Chief Fire Officer tells govt

The perennial fires have resulted in many questioning the proactiveness and preparedness of the Ghana National Fire Service in tackling fire issues.

Last Monday’s fire, which gutted a three-storey building at Makola in the Central Business District further deepened people’s perception about how ineffective our fire agency is.

Traders who lost their wares and huge sums of money blamed the situation on the delay by the Fire Service in dousing the fire.

While many have been quick to judge personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service, the immediate past Chief Fire Officer who also doubles as the Nkabomhene of Duayaw Nkwanta Traditional Area, Nana Dr. Albert Brown Gaisie believes the situation is not entirely the fault of the Service.

According to him, it is about time the nation equipped the service with the needed tools they require.

In an exclusive interview with Atinka TV’s Maame Ama Domoah, Dr. Albert Gaisie pointed out that the Service needs a mobile control where fire officers can have conferences in the van to know about the demographics and topographical features while “en route to douse fire in a particular place.”

He urged gov’t to provide insurance packages for fire men adding that the nature of their job is risky and threatening.

He added that during his tenure, they started a process of insuring fire tenders and touched on rent allowance, an initiative he started while in office as chief fire officer.

Dr Gaisie believes that ensuring the well-being of personnel will help the Service deliver.