The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has complained about the unavailability of hydrants around fire scenes as a major challenge to the fight against fire outbreaks in Ghana.
According to the GNFS, the few available ones have illegal structures such as, containers, kiosks and others built on them thereby making it impossible to access them during fire combats. Also, the accessible ones normally have no water in them rendering them useless.
ADO II Alex King Nartey from the Public Relations Department of the GNFS, at the scene of Monday’s fire outbreak at the Opera Square in the central business district of Accra told the media that the fire fighters ran out of water but couldn’t access hydrants nearby. The closest accessible hydrant had no water in it.
Hydrants are devices for extracting water from pipelines and water distribution systems. In the event of a fire outbreak, a fire hydrant can assure fast water.
In the case of smaller fires fire trucks are usually able to supply enough water from their tanks. For bigger fires, however, firefighters depend on external water sources. Hydrants guarantee a steady and secure water supply from underlying water networks.
Speaking on 3FM Sunrise Morning on Tuesday April 26, 2022 with host Alfred Ocansey, ADO II Alex King indicated that the service has taken steps to procure new fire-fighting appliances to enhance their work.
He also used the opportunity to call on all stakeholders to ensure that fire hydrants are protected from encroachment.
“The narrowness of our roads and the illegal road blocks affect response time of GNFS to fire emergencies” ADO II King complained
ADO II King indicated that the building that caught fire yesterday lacked structural integrity and had cracks all over which posed a threat to the public and the officers of GNFS at the scene. TV3 and 3FM’s correspondent from the scene, Joseph Armstrong confirmed this and called on authorities to immediately pull it down.
By Samuel Afriyie Owusu|3news.com|Ghana