The Second Lady, Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur, yesterday launched the Home Fire Safety Campaign at the Fire Academy and Training School at James Town in Accra.
The Home Safety Campaign, an initiative of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), aims at putting in place a strategy to prevent domestic fires.
Research indicates that domestic fires are the most dangerous which claim a lot of lives.
Mrs. Amissah-Arthur said home fires do not only destabilize the family, but put women, children and the aged, who are the most vulnerable in society, at risk.
She said that in addition to the loss of lives and injuries sustained in some of these home fires by survivors, properties running into several millions of cedis are destroyed.
She indicated that fire destroys property and money which impoverish families, society and the nation at large.
The Second Lady asked that appropriate measures be put in place to ensure that preventable home fires are nipped in the bud to avoid the unnecessary loss to life and property.
Mrs. Amissah-Arthur said the time has come for all and sundry to take fire safety and prevention seriously so that “we can build a better nation for ourselves, our children and the generation yet unborn.”
She urged all to shun activities and attitudes that compromise fire safety.
Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior, Annor-Kumi, who read the minister’s speech, commended the Command and personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) for the recent initiatives in the Service, especially the Home Fire Safety concept.
Mrs. Annor-Kumi stressed that Home Fire Safety campaign should be adopted by the entire community to maintain a reasonably safe environment in which families and members of the community can pursue their various activities, and by which the Ghana National Fire Service can fulfill its mission.
She underscored that the essence of Home Fire Safety campaign is to protect and assist members of the community to safeguard their property and resources to ensure that all persons, regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, are safe in the home and the community.
Chief Fire Officer, Albert Brown Gaisie, in his welcome address, said that negligence, carelessness and ignorance have always been the underlying factors for home fires.
He emphasised that that stemmed from the improper use of candles and neglect of cooking pots and electrical gadgets, among others, adding, “Most domestic fires have been recorded as a result of these three factors – negligence, carelessness and ignorance. There is therefore the need to dig deeper to find solutions to ensure safety in the mist of people ignoring safety education with impunity.”
The trapping and burning to death of some Ghanaians in their own homes recently has brought to the fore the urgent need to embark on the Home Safety Campaign to ensure total safety of the citizenry, especially in their homes, Dr. Gaisie said.