The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) on Thursday commissioned two newly constructed Fire Stations at Assin Fosu in the Assin North Municipality and Abura Dunkwa in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese (AAK) District of the Central Region.

The two facilities which were jointly commissioned by the Central Regional Minister, Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah and the Chief Fire Officer, Dr Albert Brown Gaisie, would enable the GNFS to respond quickly to any fire outbreak in the two towns and its surrounding communities.

Speaking at the official commissioning ceremony, Dr Brown Gaisie urged the general public to desist from blatant disregard for basic fire safety rules, misuse of electricity, improper and careless usage of LPG Gas, improper handling of hydrocarbons and inflammable liquids

The residents of Abura Dunkwa in the AAK District hitherto relied on the Cape Coast Fire Station and the Assin Fosu Municipal Fire Station for services, which often delayed firefighting leading to the loss of properties during fire out breaks.

Dr. Gaisie observed that a major proportion of the citizenry still lacked the needed know-how as far as total fire safety was concerned and reiterated that the Service was committed to tightening fire safety education campaign to create awareness throughout the country.

He said the Service was making the necessary efforts to construct at least a fire station at each district across the country to serve as a motivation to improve upon efficiency and enhance service delivery

Dr. Gaisie commended the two Assemblies for mobilizing resources to support the construction of the stations and admonished other district assemblies to offer related support when necessary.

Mr. Quansah commended the Chief Fire Officer for being innovative and also the quick transformation he had brought into the Service within the short period that he had been in charge.

The Government, he indicated, would not relent in the effort at providing the GNFS the adequate modern equipment and logistics needed to put the Service on a high alert to fight sophisticated domestic and industrial fires.

The Regional Fire Officer, ACFO Robert Semekor Kwaku Fiadzo, stated that there had been a decline in the number of fire incidents in the Region for the past two quarters of the year as compared to the previous years.

This, he said, was as a result of the vigorous fire safety campaigns the Service undertook in the Region and the enforcement of the LI 1724, which mandates prospective developers to acquire fire safety certificates before building.

The commissioning of the two fire stations meant that thirteen Districts of the twenty Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have fire stations in the Central Region.