The Chief Fire Office in a group photograph with his hosts at the Wa Naa’s Palace
The Wa Naa Fuseini Pelpuo has conferred the title of Bu-un Naa to wit Fire Chief at his palace on Dr. Albert Brown Gaisie, the Chief Fire Officer.
The honour was done the Fire Chief when he paid a courtesy call on Wa Naa at his palace in Wa recently.
At a short ceremony at the Wa Naa’s Palace, the Wa Naa and the Council of Chiefs and Elders of the Wa traditional area enskinned the Chief Fire Officer as Bu-un Naa I ( Fire Chief) for the Wa Traditional Area.
In his address, the Wa Naa said the enskinment of Dr. Gaisie was in recognition of his impeccable achievements as the Chief Fire Officer.
The Wa Naa said the Chief Fire Officer deserved the position of Bu-un Naa because the Traditional Council appreciated his singular effort of changing the face of the Ghana National Fire Service and the resultant reduction in fire outbreaks in the area since his elevation to the highest office as the Chief Fire Officer barely two years ago.
He added that the Chief Fire Officer’s efforts at ensuring that taskforces are formed in markets to curb bushfires through increased fire volunteer training and community fire safety education has resulted in drastic reduction in fire outbreaks in the country.
The Wa Naa said he and his chiefs and elders have learnt a lot of safety measures from the safety education by the personnel of the Fire Service.
It has been our guiding principle which has effectively been employed to guard against fire outbreaks, we always ensure that fire belts are created around our farms, he added.
“Today, firemen are coming to us in the home to educate us, telling us what to do to prevent fire outbreaks and what to do to save ourselves if it occurs.”
The Wa Naa stated that he was aware that the Chief Fire Officer had initiated and contributed to the construction, commissioning and operationalization of Fire Stations in districts in the country.
Today, the Upper West Region can boast of eight out of 11 districts that have fire covers, with the Wa Municipality alone having two fire stations, he added.
The Chief Fire Officer, in his response, thanked the Wa Naa and his council of chiefs and elders for the honour done him and promised to assist in ensuring the provision of more fire stations, as well as fire engines.
Fire has no boundary and can occur everywhere and that is why it is important that as individuals and as group of people, we should avail ourselves to fire safety education and develop the culture of implementing the safety regulations since fire prevention is a shared responsibility, he indicated.
Dr Albert Brown Gaisie promised to ensure that domestic fires that have formed the majority of fire statistics were totally reduced, adding that the Home Fire Safety Certification Project was introduced to enable fire personnel to visit homes for risk assessment and recommend facilities to curb fire outbreaks.