By: Savannah Pokuaah Duah
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has expressed its growing frustration with the persistent challenges posed by poor road conditions, which significantly hamper their ability to respond to emergencies in a timely manner.
The Ghana National Fire Service highlighted the issue with a recently released video illustrating the severe impact of poor roads on their operations, directly contributing to the public’s frequent complaints about late arrivals at incident scenes.
The video, posted on the GNFS’s social media platforms, vividly demonstrates the challenges faced by firefighters navigating inadequate road infrastructure. It shows a GNFS fire appliance from Gbetsile responding to a fire call in Ashaiman Washington when it became stuck in deep mud, effectively halting its progress. A second appliance from Ashaiman was dispatched to assist, but also encountered difficulties, getting stuck twice while attempting to reach the stranded vehicle.
The video narration explained, “A fire appliance from Gbetsile was responding to a fire call at Ashaiman Washington when it got stuck in the clayey mud, halting its progress to the scene. An appliance from Ashaiman responded to the same fire and attempted to assist the Gbetsile appliance get out of the mud, but faced challenges of its own, getting stuck twice on the way.”
The video highlighted the strenuous effort required to resolve the situation. “Frantic efforts to try and salvage the situation proved futile,” the narration continued, until a tipper truck was brought in to pull both appliances free.
The GNFS used the incident to emphasize the critical need for improved road infrastructure. “The poor condition of our roads is one of several factors that significantly affects our emergency response times,” the GNFS stated in the video caption.
The video concluded with a call to action. “While teamwork and external help resolved this challenge, it serves as a clear call for action to improve our road infrastructure, ensuring that those who put their lives on the line to protect others can do so without unnecessary obstacles,” the GNFS emphasized.
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