DOI Timothy Osafo Affum
THE TEMA Regional Office of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has revealed that faulty prepaid meters are causing a surge in fire outbreaks in the area.
According to the Service, hikes in domestic and electrical fires in the metropolis are largely caused by these suspected faulty metres.
Commander of the Tema Regional Fire Service, DOI Timothy Osafo Affum, said statistics on fire outbreaks in the Tema Metropolis for the year 2020 showed an increase of 5 per cent in fire cases, that is, from 489 cases in 2019 to 510 cases in 2020, with domestic and electrical fires being the two leading cases.
He noted that major cause of these infernos should be blamed on the new Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) prepaid metres installed in various homes.
DOI Affum was worried that although the Command was given assurance by the ECG on the durability of these metres, however, recent incidents show otherwise.
He also revealed that Community One topped the chart of most communities recording fire outbreaks in the Tema Metropolis in 2020, beating communities such as Ashaiman.
Touching on the number of fire outbreaks in the first quarter of 2021, DOI Affum said there had been a surge in fire cases due to the weather pattern.
He advised residents to be extra careful in their daily activities during this dry season, which was a period susceptible to fire outbreaks.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema