Surge in prank calls straining emergency response in Ashanti region – Chief Fire Officer

The Ashanti Regional Office of the Ghana National Fire Service says it is grappling with an alarming increase in prank calls, recording over 20,000 such calls monthly.

The surge has prompted officials to caution the public, emphasising the detrimental impact on the Fire Service’s ability to respond promptly to genuine emergencies.

ACFO 1 Henry Giwah, the Ashanti Regional Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service who expressed worry about the situation said the daily influx of more than 2,000 prank calls creates unnecessary hurdles for the Fire Service, diverting resources away from real emergencies.

The Regional Chief Fire Officer warned against such misuse and disclosed that measures are being implemented to collaborate with the police and the judicial service to prosecute such offenders.

“Prank calls persist”, Giwah said.

“Every day when you go to our control room, even right now. You see the number of prank calls that come. Averagely eighty to nighty per hour and over 2000 a day”.

“One thing we do is that when you call, because of these prank calls, when you call fire service, we always want to call you back. And even listen to the environment where you are. Sometimes we spend time to educate these callers and that divert attention to other emergencies. What we are doing is that we are compiling the names and forward them to the police to deal with them”, he stated.