The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has disclosed that it recorded 624 fire incidents in December of 2022 alone.
The latest figure is a 10% increase in fire outbreaks in the country in the same period of the previous year where 567 fire incidents were recorded.
According to a statement released by the Public Affairs directorate of the GNFS on January 1 2023, no casualties were recorded in all the various fire incidents recorded in December.
The statement added: “Nonetheless, 12 road traffic collision incidents responded to resulted in 34 injuries and two deaths in the last seven days of December 2022.”
It attributed the fire outbreaks to “careless use of electricity and electrical appliances, indiscriminate burning of rubbish, unattended cooking” among other factors, especially within the last seven day stretch of December.
The GNFS is therefore entreating the general public to take fire safety seriously to avoid outbreaks, especially ghetto inhabitants and other fire-prone areas. It is also calling on religious, traditional, opinion and other leaders to assist the service in ensuring fire safety measures are followed in the various parts of the country to save life and property.
On December 26, the fire service released a statement in which it bemoaned a sharp rise in fire outbreaks, with no less than 44 cases recorded on Christmas day alone.
The statement noted that its Tema Region recorded the highest of the 44 fire outbreaks followed by the Ashanti Region.
“The Service recorded a total of 44 fires nationwide on Christmas Day. Out of the total fires recorded, 19 were domestic, 9 commercial, 8 bushfires, 5 vehicular, 2 electrical installation fires and I crown fire involving a coconut tree. The out-on-arrival fire cases recorded were 9.
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“Tema Region recorded the highest of 11 fires, followed by Ashanti Region with 6 fires and Accra Region with 5 fires. Upper East Region recorded the least of I fire. Fortunately, no fire incident casualty was recorded. Three (3) road crashes with 2 casualties were responded to by the Service. Accra Region recorded 2 out of the total with I incident recorded in the Central Region,” it read.