A new fire station was on Wednesday commissioned at the premises of Ada West District Assembly, Sege, in the Greater Accra Region.

The fire station, which is located along the Accra-Aflao International Highway, will provide a vital and rapid emergency response services to users of the road since it would be the only fire and rescue station on the 76 kilometre stretch from Dawhenya to Sogakope.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Kwaku Manu Afful, the Director of Operations, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said the facility was part of its strategic policy to open new well-equipped fire stations in all districts of the country.

He said the policy was to position the fire service to provide safety cover for government’s one district one factory projects and to boost investor confidence in the private sector.

He said fire outbreaks continued to cause significant loss of lives and properties, which negatively affected the country’s Gross Domestic Product and needed urgent attention.

“Fires know no boundaries, neither does it respect personalities and can, therefore, wreak havoc on anyone if care is not taken. We are and will continue to be at risk so long as we continue to compromise fire safety practices,” he added.

Mr Afful said fire safety was a shared responsibility and that all have a role to play in ensuring safety in houses, farms, townships and the country at large.

He appealed to the Assemblies and the Traditional Rulers to partner the fire service to help disseminate strict fire safety practices into the communities, especially on the prevention of bushfires.

The Director of Operations charged his Officers stationed in Sege to prioritize safety education in the district and its surrounding communities and to sensitize the inhabitants to ensure preventable fires did not occur.

He advised the community to collaborate with the fire officers to work assiduously to prevent any fire outbreak in the community.

Mr Adzoteye Lawer Akrofi, the District Chief Officer of Ada West District Assembly, said the Assembly used to depend on the Ada East District fire and rescue station in Big Ada and so the new station was timely.

He said the facility would enable beneficiary communities and others to access emergency response services that can save lives, property and livelihoods from the danger of fires and other emergencies.

Mr Akrofi said the presence of the District Fire Officers would instil confidence and reassure the community that help would be readily available within the shortest possible time in times of crisis.

“It is our expectation that the fire station will not only provide us with emergency response services in times of fire outbreaks, road accidents and flood but will help bolster the level of security and protection in the district,” he added.

Madam Frances Rockson, the Tema Regional Commander of GNFS said the fire station is the 11th in the Tema Region, urging members of the community to embrace the idea and adopt it as their own since fire prevention was not the job of the fire service alone but a collective responsibility.

The Director of Operations inaugurated the fire service rescue volunteer assistance in the community to help in extrication and first aid service to victims of accidents.

They were later presented with certificates.

Present at the event were Madam Sarah Pobee, the District Chief Executive of Ada East, Assembly Members and some police personnel.