The Acting Chief Fire Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Daniella Ntow Sarpong, has stated that disciplinary actions will be taken against the Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Alex King Nartey, following his 'outburst' directed at the Ashanti Regional Minister.

In a statement dated March 24, 2025, and signed by Ntow Sarpong, it was stated that the decision to take disciplinary action is intended to serve as a deterrent to other service personnel and to prevent such an incident from recurring in the future.

“Be assured that appropriate disciplinary measure shall be taken against the officer to avert the future occurrence of this unfortunate incident,” the letter stated.

Additionally, the institution has issued an apology to the minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, describing the comments as uncomplimentary and unfortunate.

“I refer to the uncomplimentary comments and remarks by a member of the Public Relations Team of the Service in the person of ADOI Alex King Nartey on the recent Fire Outbreak at Adum in the Kumasi Metropolis.

“On behalf of myself and the entire Ghana National Fire Service, we unreservedly extend our profound and sincerest regret for any unfortunate comment made against your good self and reputable office as the Regional Minister and Chair of REGSEC (Ashanti Region),” it added.

This follows an earlier apology made by Alex King Nartey to the minister.

According to him, even though he stands by his point that the minister could have used a better approach in conveying his displeasure with the service, he apologises for the comments he made.

"I have great respect and admiration for the honourable minister especially blazing the trail as the youngest minister.

"My intentions might have been taken out of context since I was acting on the belief that the honourable minister could have used a different approach in dealing with the firefighters who had risked their lives for hours at the fire ground," he wrote.

He added that "The approach of publicly criticising them and videoing it was not the best, hence my comment that the shouting was uncalled for."

Background

On Friday, March 21, 2025, a devastating fire engulfed the Kumasi Central Business Market, also known as Adum Market. The tragedy resulted in significant losses, including the destruction of goods, food items, and services worth millions of Ghana cedis.

Amid the chaos, a video surfaced showing the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, expressing his frustrations with the Ghana National Fire Service over a fire tender stationed at the scene of the fire, but without any water in it.

He expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that upon his arrival at the scene in the evening of the day, he inquired about the fire tender but was met with what he described as inadequate responses, which further fueled his frustration.

"If there is no water in the fire tender, move it away from here. What kind of behaviour is this? If there is water in it, why are you standing idle as if I am a small boy you can deceive?

"The explanations are too much. Move the vehicle from here! I have been asking about the fire tender for the past hour, but you are not telling me the truth. What kind of life is this? Move the fire tender away now, or I will order the boys to move it. It has been an hour since I asked you to bring a fire tender here,” the minister fumed.

However, in response to the ‘rants’ by the minister, Alex King Nartey went on social media to call out the regional minister over what he describes as an attempt to engage in self-aggrandizement at the expense of hardworking firefighters.

King Nartey questioned the motivation behind the minister's actions while noting their impact on the morale of the officers.

He stated “He could have easily just approached any of our officers or the commander at the scene without having to necessarily put a camera on himself to create a spectacle. To what end? Because at Kantamanto, there was no shouting, but we were able to quench the fire.

"So, what was the essence of the shouting with the cameras there, just to create a scene that you are working? When the men who are actually working and putting their lives on the line were being demoralised. Who does that?" he told TV3 in an interview.



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