Mr Ambrose Dery, Minister for the Interior, has commended the Acting Chief Fire Officer, Edwin Ebow Blankson and the entire Ghana National Fire Service for successfully attending to over 3,000 fire cases despite challenges facing it.

He noted that as at 30th June 2018, the team effectively handled 3,318 fire cases and 309 Road Traffic Accidents.

Mr Dery was speaking at the commissioning of the Smoke Chamber at the Fire Academy Training School in Accra on Wednesday to improve the quality of training offered by the School.

The smoke chamber happens to be a confined environment and a basic infrastructure required in every professional fire fighting training institution to enrich its drilling programmes.

He said the President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo had recognized that the effective training of Fire Officers coupled with adequate tooling, was critical for effective service delivery.

Mr Dery assured Fire Officers that the Government would not relent in its effort to build the capacity of fire fighters to enable the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) discharge its mandate to the nation efficiently.

The Minister for the Interior announced efforts to procure Hydraulic Platforms to aid fire fighting in high rise buildings, adding that government was determined to ensure that the Service lives up to its decree as well as be one of the best on the continent.

“Efforts are also being made by Government to recruit more personnel and to improve the supply of major operational equipment such as Foam Compound, Fire fighting Hoses, Breathing Apparatus, Fire fighting Suits, Fire Combat Boots, among others, as well as ensuring that the Road Traffic Collision Unit of the Service is well equipped in view of the increasing spate of accidents on our roads in recent times”, he said.

Mr Dery also assured Fire Officers of Governments’ awareness on the challenges of the GNFS in respect of appropriate training infrastructure, equipment and overseas training for instructors.

He, however, encouraged them to use the Smoke chamber to translate the efficiency and safety of fire fighters and the public on the incident ground.