Kuntanse, (Ash), June 23, GNA - A Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) donor conference will soon be held in Accra to source for funds. The conference will also serve as a forum to enable participants brainstorm to find ways to ensure that GNFS offers quality service to the public. Nana Frimpong Anokye Ababio, Chairman of the GNFS Council, said this when he met fire officers in the Ashanti Region during a working visit. The chairman, who is also the Paramount Chief of Agona Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region, said the outcome of the conference will be used as a blueprint to fashion out a strategic plan to solve the perennial problems facing the service.

He appealed to the staff of the service to co-operate with the Council and Management to change the image of the GNFS. Nana Ababio reiterated the call to developers and the general public to make safety a priority when building to help prevent fatalities in the event of fire or any other form of disaster. The Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Felix Kwame Ferkah, said everything possible was being done to improve their service conditions as well as the procurement of logistics and uniforms. He said frantic efforts would be made to organise in-serve training for the personnel and appealed to them to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Mr. Obeng Dankwa Dwamena, Assistant Fire Officer who is in charge of the Ashanti Region, said there has been a drop in the number of fire outbreaks in the region during the first five months of the year. Some 420 fires were recorded as compared to 445 fires for the same period in 2007.

He said despite the success, they will not relent in their effort at intensifying their public educational campaign in schools, market places, churches, industries and other places in order to minimise the effects of fire outbreaks.