‘If the attacks continue, we’ll not respond to emergencies’ – Fire Service warns

“If the attacks continue, what would happen is that, whenever there’s any fire that we believe that the people there are hooligans, we’ll not come. We do not cause the fires in the first place,” Mr. Ackah stated emphatically.

The warning comes in the wake of several incidents where fire service personnel were attacked by agitated residents during emergency responses. These attacks have raised serious concerns about the safety of the firefighters and the effectiveness of their operations.

Mr. Ackah highlighted the dedication and risks that firefighters face daily in their line of duty. He stressed that the primary goal of the fire service is to save lives and property, and any hindrance to their operations could have dire consequence, and called for the support of people at the scene of emergency situations, attacking them.

Relational to the incidences being condemned by the fire service, tensions ran high in the Alabar neighbourhood in Kumasi as residents expressed their frustration over a delayed response from the Ghana Fire Service to a domestic fire incident in the early hours of Friday, September 13, 2024.

The fire, which broke out in a residential building, was exacerbated by the malfunctioning fire tender at the Manhyia fire station and the late arrival of a backup unit from Anloga.

Eyewitnesses reported that the fire started in the early hours of the morning, quickly engulfing the building. Despite multiple calls to the fire service, the response was significantly delayed due to the broken-down tender at the nearest fire station. By the time the backup unit arrived, the fire had already razed the building to the ground, leaving residents devastated and angry.

This incident follows a similar fire outbreak in Makola, Accra, just days ago. The fire, which began on 1st September 2024, ravaged several buildings and left structures in a deplorable state. Despite the efforts of the Ghana National Fire Service, the fire could not be doused promptly, leading to significant property damage and raising concerns about the effectiveness of the fire service.