Winneba, (C/R) Aug. 1, GNA-Forty petrol dealers and filling station attendants drawn from the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District of the Central Region, have attended a day's orientation course on fire prevention and the use of safety gadgets at the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) station at Winneba.

The course, the first to be organized for fuel dealers and attendants since the station was established 35 years ago, aimed at keeping participants fully abreast with the requisite knowledge and skills to avert any man-made fire disaster that may occur in the course of their work.

Resource persons were Mr Bartholomew K. Nketsiah, District Fire Officer, Mr. Francis Attoh Doughan, District Coordinator for the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), and Mr.Justin Gokah, an official of the district fire station.

The three officers took turns to educate participants on various aspects of natural and man-made disasters, correct use of fire prevention equipment and the need for petroleum products dealers and their attendants to attach great importance to their work.

Mr. Nketsiah said any misconduct on their part could cause serious and irreparable damage to human lives and property. He assured participants of more of such seminars to upgrade their knowledge periodically to enable them to protect their enterprises Effectively against fire outbreaks.

Besides fire disasters, Mr. Doughan, the district NADMO Coordinator, enlightened participants on the dangers that earthquake poses to human lives and property and advised them to share the knowledge and skills acquired with people living in their communities.

In his closing address, the guest speaker, Barimah Owusu-Kwarteng, a journalist, charged fuel dealers to desist from illegal adjustment of their pumping machines and hoarding of petroleum products in times of crises.

Barimah Owusu-Kwarteng also advised filling station attendants to execute their assignments with a high sense of honesty and avoid cheating to attract more customers and God's blessings.

Filling station attendants Barimah Owusu-Kwarteng further counseled, should muster courage to challenge children below 15 years when sent by their parents or drivers to purchase petrol from their respective selling points.

The move would help prevent some of the fatal man-made fire disasters caused by petrol in the rural communities and the big towns occasionally.

Barinah Owusu-Kwarteng stressed the need for petrol filling station managers in the rural areas to ensure that their filling stations were properly equipped with all the necessary fire prevention and fire fighting facilities to cope with eventualities.