A new clinic built by the Western Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service was on Friday, opened at the regional headquarters, at Fijai, in the Sekondi -Takoradi metropolis.

The project, initiated by the Regional GNFS Commander, Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) James Emmanuel Quao, and funded by corporate organisations and individuals, was executed by 13-mansquad artisans of the GNFS at GH¢143,290.00.

Facilities at the clinic include a doctor’s consulting room, an out-patient department, a pharmacy, male and female wards, antenatal department, injection and dressing room, a laboratory and a store.

An ultra-modern miniature cenotaph post and a renovated office building were also inaugurated at the ceremony.

In his address, ACFO Quao said he thought of the clinic as a legacy he would leave behind, explaining that the May 2017 Ghana Household Utilities Manufacturing Company gas explosion, in which more than 100 people, including seven firemen, sustained injuries, necessitated the construction of the clinic.

He noted that, “the fact still remains that on regular basis firemen are exposed to injuries, inhale toxic fumes and encounter other health hazards while responding to the call to duty.”

The clinic, which is the third in country, ACFO Quao said, would serve the health needs of service personnel, their families and the public.

ACFO Quao said the clinic needed a well equip laboratory that would cost about GH¢42,000, adding “our doors are still open to accept more assistance from corporate organisations and individuals.”

ACFO Quao, who is on transfer to the Greater Accra Region, paid tribute to the various committees and group that executed the project.

The Chief Fire Officer, Ekow Blankson, in an address, read on his behalf by Director, Technical Services of GNFS, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Tony Gomez, commended ACFO Quao for the initiative.

The clinic, he noted, was part of the Western Region GNFS Command’s vision to improve the welfare of GNFS personnel and announced that the service had planned to build a burns hospital soon.

The Western Regional Minister, Dr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, noted that fires resulted in havoc to human lives and destruction of properties, vital public documents, and urged all to comply with fire safety measures.

He presented GH¢5,000 as seed money for the establishment of a fund to maintain the clinic.

PIC 1 &4 Dr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah unveiling a plaque to open the fire clinic. With him from left are the Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mrs Gifty Eugenia Kusi, ACFO Quao, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Tony Gomez.