Albert Brown Gaisie talking to the personnel
Fire officers in the Brong Ahafo Region have been tasked not to take money from members of the general public whenever they extinguish fire because services of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) are free.
Chief Fire Officer, Dr. Albert Brown Gaisie, who disclosed this, said any fire officer who charges a member of the public for services rendered will be dealt with severely.
Dr. Gaisie gave the warning at the Sunyani Regional Fire Command where he interacted with municipal and district fire commanders drawn from the region as part of his working visit to the region to assess the preparedness of personnel in the region to augment efforts of other security agents ahead of the December polls.
Speaking to officers, the chief fire officer said, “Services for firefighting are free and anybody who charges will be dismissed.”
He asked them to work hard and exhibit professionalism in the discharge of their duties.
According to him, GNFS is putting in place measures to improve conditions of service of personnel by providing new uniforms, rent for officers and in-service training to improve knowledge that will lead to promotion.
He therefore urged them to be innovative, creative and prudent in the use of the little resources at their disposal to achieve maximum efficiency in their respective district.
Dr Gaisie tasked them to go round and educate households and institutions on fire safety measures and not to wait for fire to occur before they are called in to extinguish it, saying “in that way fire outbreaks will reduce considerably in the country.”
Dr Albert Brown Gaisey said henceforth regional, municipal and district fire commanders will be required to sign performance contracts and meet targets in order to secure promotion.
He asked them to desist from using social media to denigrate the institution and peddle lies but always use laid-down procedures.
From Daniel Y Dayee, Sunyani