Personnel of the service, led by the District Fire Commander, Divisional Officer III Ms Naomi Quarshie, inspected electricity installations and other electrical appliances traders in the market were using.

Ms Quarshie and her team advised traders to switch off all their electrical appliances before leaving for home and cautioned food sellers to ensure that they put out all fires at the close of their businesses.

She urged the traders to engage competent electricians in fixing their electrical installations in order to avert fire outbreaks, since illegal connection of electricity in the markets contributed to fire outbreaks in the district.

She further advised traders to acquire fire extinguishers to enable them to fight fires quickly the moment they start.

Safety education

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the District Fire Commander said education on safety formed part of proactive approaches the service had adopted to prevent fires from erupting in the district.

She said apart from the markets, the District Office had also targeted house-to-house campaigns as well as public and radio discussion programmes as means ofsensitising inhabitants of the district.

She disclosed that the service had already recorded 14 fire incidents in the district within the first quarter of the year compared to 12 cases recorded within the same period last year and emphasised that a campaign on public education was very necessary, since domestic fires continued to destroy lives and properties.

She observed that certain activities of fisher folks such as improper storage of premix fuel were contributing largely to fire outbreaks.

“We are here to help protect lives and properties. Some fisherfolks and traders in the community keep premix fuel in their homes and shops and this practice can cause fire when the fuel is exposed to naked fires. Some women also cook in the market and either forget or refuse to put out the fire. This can also cause fire, especially at night, when no one is around to put it out at the onset,” she said.

Electrical connections

Ms Quarshie appealed to residents to engage the services of professional electricians to handle electrical connections in their homes and markets.

She noted that as part of the service’s strategic measures in firefighting, prevention and control at the market, personnel would be deployed to patrol the market in the evenings to ensure that fires have been completely put out before traders leave for home.

She said the district fire service office had set aside Tuesdays to engage the fishing community in fire prevention education, since they do not embark on fishing on that day.