Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has commissioned Ghana’s second Fire Service Academy and Training School at Wungu, in the North East Region.
The newly-built training school has well-furnished classrooms, a three-storey administration block, male and female dormitories, a dining hall, and also equipped with modern training equipment.
At a short ceremony to commission the facility, Dr. Bawumia indicated that the newly-built Fire Service Academy and Training School is the second Fire Service Training School in Ghana, since independence, after the only one at James Town, Accra.
The Vice President noted that the training school, is in fulfillment of government’s decision to add three more Fire Service Training Schools to the only one in the country.
“Very soon, the third training school in Duayaw Nkwanta will also be commissioned, and the fourth is expected to be completed by the end of the year,” he disclosed.
Dr. Bawumia assured of government’s commitment to increasing the strength and capacity of the Ghana Fire Service, and indicated that government has increased personnel by over 100% from 7,000 to 15,000 in the past seven years.
The Chief Fire Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), CFO Julius Aalebkure Kuunuor, commended government for its efforts to uplift the image of the service.
“Officers and retired officers of the Ghana National Fire Service are very proud and thankful to the government for its efforts to improve the image of the service. The Ghana National Fire Service is enjoying tremendous support from the Ministry of Interior,” he stated.
CFO Kuunuor called on chiefs, community members and stakeholders to support the service to safeguard properties and the environment in the event of fire-related incidents in the various communities in the region.
“As firefighters, we recognise collaborations and shared responsibilities of our nation from devastating effects of fire, and so with the support of our stakeholders, it’s our duty to prevent and respond swiftly to all incidents. We must work together as a community to raise awareness about the causes, prevention and dangers of fires and other incidents,” he pointed out.
BY Eric Kombat, Wungu