GNFS threatens to blacklist communities that attack officers

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has threatened to blacklist communities that manhandle or attack their officers in the line of duty in the name of not arriving at the incident scene on time.

The threat comes after unidentified individuals on two occasions pelted stones at fire tenders at Konongo within the Asante Akim Central Municipality of the Ashanti region.

According to reports, fire officers from Konongo were deployed to attend to a fire outbreak near Nkwakaw, and while at the scene, they received another distress call and had to rush back to the Konongo township, which is the only fire service station responsible for several communities.

However, further reports indicated that the residents, who were unhappy about the officers’ late arrival at the scene, began pelting stones and other objects at the officers, causing damage to the fire tender and leaving officers traumatised.

Speaking to Republic Press, a member of the GNFS communications department, A.D.O.1 Alex King Nortey, said attacks on fire officers are on the rise and actions need to be taken to stop individuals who engage in the unlawful act.

Despite being committed to discharging their duties as fire fighters, A.D.O.1 Alex King Nortey also mentioned that the safety of officers and equipment is also important, hence their decision to begin blacklisting such communities.

“Most communities do not have fire stations so a nearby fire tender is responsible for other communities and looking at the traffic situation and poor road network in some communities, it is difficult to the fire scene as quickly as possible so if we get there and we are being attacked, it means you can fight the fire yourself”, A.D.O.1 Alex King Nortey said.

“In the case of future fire outbreaks, officers will not be dispatched to blacklisted areas until authorities address the issue”, he stressed.

A.D.O.1 Alex King Nortey is however calling on various assemblies to advocate for fire stations in their communities to reduce the burden and easy deployment of officers in case of fire outbreaks.