Tema, Oct 18, GNA - The Tema Municipality recorded 71 fire related disasters between January and June this year, Mr Abraham Reynolds, Tema Municipal Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has said.

Affected were 24 male adults, 14 female adults, 13 male children and 20 female children while two persons lost their lives. Mr Reynolds made this known at a durbar of schools in Tema on Thursday as part of the programmes marking this year's World Disaster Reduction Day (WDRD).

He observed the disasters occurred due to negligence on the part of the victims and indicated that it was prudent that the habit of safety was inculcated in children for them to grow with it as routine. Giving the aim of the theme, "Disaster Risk Reduction begins at school", the Municipal NADMO Coordinator said it was aimed at highlighting the contribution of children in risk prevention as they were the most vulnerable.

Mr Reynolds further added that his NADMO had not rested on its quest to bring to the minimum fire related disasters in the municipality. Dr Kweku Osei Ackom, Deputy National Coordinator of NADMO, reading Mr Bang Ki Moon, United Nations (UN) Secretary General's message for the WDRD said the day was set aside by the UN to mobilize governments, communities and individuals to make disaster risk an integral part of school curricula.

He said it was also to ensure that school buildings were built to withstand natural hazards. Warrant Officer One (WO1) retired Andrews Odartey, Medical Assistant in Charge of the NADMO Clinic, giving tit bits on first aid advised the public to examine injuries on casualties before rushing them to the hospital.

WO1 Odartey further said casualties should be laid flat on the back at the rear seats of vehicles when being transported to the hospital instead of bungling them in, which worsened the situation. Station Officer Benjamin Allotey of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) during a demonstration said fire extinguishers should be directed at the base of the fire and not in the air. He asked the public to cultivate the practice of plugging fridges, deep freezers and water heaters directly in the main socket instead of extension boards as that was dangerous and advised against overloading sockets.

He urged liquefied petroleum gas users to always put their gas cylinders outside their kitchen when cooking as leakage could spark fire when placed near the source. The Station Officer urged the public to always call the emergency line, 192 rather than the 199, which normally went through processes before reaching the fire service.