There are six fire stations in the metropolis – Manhyia, Bremang, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Chirapatre and Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) but he said the number was not adequate.

He was addressing a meeting held with metropolitan, municipal and district fire officers at the regional fire office in Kumasi.  It provided the forum to discuss operational activities, undertake performance review and map out strategies to achieve set targets.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) Fiadzo said the metropolis had grown to cover a huge area and it was only prudent to increase the stations  “These fire stations are closely located when one looks at the distances between them - Kumasi keeps expanding and has become very large and so, there is the need for more stations, to be evenly distributed and located, for effective coverage of the city.”   He made reference to a fire incident at Gyinase, where it took firefighters an hour to get to the scene, by which time, nothing could be salvaged and said it would be ideal to have a fire station in every community.

He also highlighted the need for the assemblies to act decisively to stop the springing up of slums.  Structures in such areas are built of mainly of wood and this combined with the poor and illegal power connection, make them notorious for fire outbreaks.DCFO Fiazo urged strong support for the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to carry out fire safety education to stop the recklessness and negligence.