Ho, Feb. 19, GNA - Churches have been asked to obtain fire certificates for their places of worship or risk having those premises sealed off.

"We have been asked to seal off all premises without the fire certificates," the Volta Regional Fire Officer, Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Mr Alex Martels Hughes told a meeting of Church leaders in the Ho Municipality on Thursday.

"You are all operating illegally but because of God we have allowed it, I will do my duty to protect the congregations" he said without saying when the enforcement would begin.

He said Legislative Instrument (L.I) 1724 of 2003 makes it obligatory for those who operate premises where people congregate to have those premises covered by fire certificates renewable every 12 months. He said the cost involved was minimal compared with the cost of human lives and property that would have been lost in case of fire. Mr Hughes said Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are also obliged to obtain Fire certificates on those premises. He said Ghanaians seemed to be obsessed with security to the neglect of safety, especially fire safety.

Mr Hughes said this attitude is manifested in the fixing of burglar proof metals on all premises including private homes unmindful of the dangers those structures posed in case of fire. He advised that homes and premises be fixed with safety alarms to provide early warning signals.

Mr Hughes also advised parents to educate and assign roles on safety to their children at home as a preventive measure. "Before you leave your homes or retire to bed, it is important to switch-off your plugs and remove them from their sockets," he said. He said at home there must be somebody to be in charge of calling the fire service, somebody to be in charge of emergency exit and somebody to police household property that are taken out of the rooms in case of fire. He also called for good neighbourliness to ensure that help would be quickly available in case of fire.

Mr Hughes said it is important for everybody to look round when he or she gets to any premises in order to locate possible exits in case of fire. He asked church leaders to educate their congregations on fire safety measures and to contact the Fire Service for advice on safety measures and training of their members.

Representatives of the churches expressed their gratitude to Mr Hughes for the useful information he and his staff had offered them and promised to help spread the message.