Kumasi, Jan. 22, GNA - The Ashanti Regional Office of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), has set up a Market Safety

Department to educate market women and traders in the Kumasi metropolis on fire prevention and management. It has also launched a campaign to assist students in first and second cycle schools as well as people communities to appreciate the

harmful effects of fire outbreaks and the need to take precautionary measures. Mr Francis Darko-Kono, Regional Operations Officer of the GNFS, announced this at a launch of an anti-fire campaign by the

Kumasi Metropolitan office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) for media practitioners on Thursday. He said the recurring incidence of fire at the markets should be a source of great worry to all. Mr Darko-Kono said fire prevention and management demand total collaboration of all and sundry and also called for

intensive public education on it. Kumasi recorded 420 fire outbreaks in 2009 and out of this, 205 were domestic, 62 were commercial, 63 vehicular, 30

industrial, 16 electrical, six institutional and 26 bush fires. The fires claimed six lives and left 311 with various degrees of injuries. Mr Darko-Kono said lack of adequate and modern fire-fighting equipment and appliances as well as obstructions and

inaccessibility of some locations, were major hindrances to swift response to fire emergencies. He said the Service was doing everything to reduce the incidence of fire by 51 per cent and noted that they would need the

cooperation of all stakeholders including individuals to achieve that. Mr Yao Doe-Tamakloe, the Regional NADMO Coordinator, called for effective collaboration between the media and the

organization to educate community members on disaster prevention. Police Chief Superintendent Joseph Obeng, Ashanti Central Police Divisional Commander, appealed to the public to inform

the police on all acts by individuals or groups that could either cause disaster or crime for immediate intervention and action. Mrs Vivien Akumia, the Metro NADMO Coordinator, said it was important to educate and build the capacity of media

personnel for them to be able to give out the right information to check fire disasters during the harmattan season.