The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has expressed concern about the lack of fire extinguishers in most vehicles, which results in destruction of some vehicles on the road during fire outbreaks.

The Service, in collaboration with the National Road Safety Authority, conducted an exercise on 70 vehicles in Ho Township, and 98 per cent of the vehicles were not having fire extinguishers.

Two per cent of the vehicles who were having fire extinguishers could not also operate them.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO), Joy Ayim Ameyibor, Volta Regional Commander, GNFS, who disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said fire extinguishers formed important part of every vehicle on the road.

He said the fire took between one to three minutes to get out of control, thus availability of fire extinguishers in vehicles was essential in dousing the fire or suppressing it until the fire service arrived.

“To avoid the destruction of vehicles by fire, there is the need for every driver to have a portable, and serviceable fire extinguisher so in case of fire they can use it to douse the fire,” he said.

Mr Ameyibor said data available to them had shown that there had been a number of vehicular fires and most of the vehicles involved got destroyed because the drivers were not having fire extinguishers.

The Commander asked drivers and vehicle owners to cooperate with the Service by ensuring they had fire extinguishers in their vehicles, as firefighting was everyone’s responsibility.

Divisional Officer Grade II, Charles Tisong, Volta Regional Fire Safety Officer told GNA the exercise took them to three fuel stations; Total fuel station, Allied Oil, and Kings fuel station.

He said they used the exercise to provide training for drivers that were having extinguishers in their vehicles on how to properly use them.

The Safety Officer disclosed that some of the drivers were aggressive towards them during the exercise and unwilling to comply, a situation he described as worrying.

Mr Tisong asked the public to be cautious about how they use fire in this harmattan season to avoid fire outbreaks.

After cautioning the drivers, he stated that the next exercise would involve working with the police to ensure that vehicles without an extinguisher were not allowed on the road.

Madam Joana Fafa Ayer told GNA compliance with the road safety protocols was necessary to avoid road crashes.

She urged all drivers and other road users to observe the road traffic rules and regulations.