By Joyce Kantam Kolamong
As part of efforts to ensure compliance and safety at work and premises and generate revenue, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), has inaugurated a ten-member Regional Fire Safety Taskforce in Tamale, the Northern Regional Capital.
The Task Force will carry out visits to facilities to inspect fire certificates, educate people on the procedure of acquiring fire certificates, assess fire safety cover, and identify service providers who are mandated to deal in fire safety products.
The Northern Regional Fire Officer, ACFO I James Ankrah, implored the Taskforce team to be disciplined and exhibit a high sense of professionalism in the discharge of their mandated duty.
In August 2023, the Command engaged the spatial planning committee members of six metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies with the view of urging them to inculcate fire safety engineering in building plans.
Invitation has also been extended to Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) and other stakeholders in the building industry to woo them into prioritising fire safety in their design of building plans.
All these efforts are intended to reduce the likelihood of fires or their impacts.
Ghana has good laws, but enforcement is a challenge, so it is in the case of the implementation or enforcement of the Fire Precaution (premises) Regulations, LI 1724 of 2003.
Premises without fire certificates or owners/occupiers who fail to obtain fire certificates commit an offence and are liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, and for each day of further default, to a fine of 25 penalty units.
The Northern Regional Fire Officer, ACFO I James Ankrah, said research has shown that a good number of premises do not have fire certificates, and therefore the safety provisions in those facilities cannot be guaranteed.
This, he indicated, exposes users of such facilities to high fire risks and also denies Central government the needed revenue for development. He said it is on this premise that the Service is instituting the Fire Safety Task Force concept at the National, Regional and District levels to enforce and ensure compliance with LI 1724 while generating revenue for the state.
He charged the team to be guided by the Service core values of Gallantry, Observation, Loyalty, Dexterity, Sympathy, Tact, Explicitness and Perseverance. He also charged them to eschew all forms of mischief, corruption, and other misconduct that have the potential to bring the good name of the Service into disrepute.
Mr Ankrah, however, encouraged members of the public to report any misdeeds of the Task Force to the Command for appropriate sanctions. He announced efforts by the Service to get the fire certificate process automated to expedite the process and also allow clients to renew or acquire their fire certificates with just a click of a button.
The Regional Safety Inspector, Madam Jemima Musah, who is leading the Fire Safety Taskforce, called for cooperation from the general public. She said the Task Force is never intended to collapse businesses but to protect the investment of businesses from the ravages of fires.
She indicated that it is in the best interest of both employees and employers, customers and owners, to put safety first, minimise risk to life, and therefore reduce financial loss and property damage. The Regional Safety Task Force is expected to hit the streets in the coming days.