“The efforts of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) however effective, must be complimented by a positive response from the public by way of adhering to the fire safety messages from the service in order to prevent fire occurrences,” he said.

However, he said it was important to assess how the fire commenced and possible negligence/carelessness of victims in the occurrence of the fire.

The minister said this at the passing out of 525 recruits at the Fire Academy and Training School in Accra last Friday.

The recruit course 55 comprised 278 males and 247 females from across the country.

Dignitaries who graced the occasion were the Chief Fire Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Mr Julius Kuunuor; Chairman of the Fire Service Council, Mr Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, directors of the service, sister security agencies, senior fire personnel, family and friends of the recruits, among others.

Mr Derry said the responsibility of preventing fire outbreaks was the duty of both the citizens and the firefighters, saying, “we are all important stakeholders in the fight against undesired fires.’’

Mr Dery said the country was in a volatile region and prone to extremist activities, adding that the country had so far been spared. 

In addition to firefighting, Mr Dery urged personnel to create awareness of the populace to facilitate the fight against the entry/existence of extremism in Ghana, per the campaign – ‘See something, say something’. 

The minister commended the efforts of CFO Kuunuor and his management team for their innovative means of educating the public on the dangers of fire.

“Currently, timely and trending information about the activities and educational materials of all forms can be accessed on the various social media platforms of the Ghana National Fire Service. Congratulations to the Public Relations apparatus of the Service for this adjustment which appears to be very much in tune with prevailing times,” he added.

As part of the occasion, the overall best student and academic was presented to Recruit Fire Woman (RFW) Fafali Anang, Recruit Fire Man, Emmanuel Logah received the award for best in foot drill and RFW Mawuse Jemima Daliesor received the Commandant’s award.

They were trained for a period of six weeks in familiarisation of Fire Service equipment, hosefitting, hydrants and hose standard practices, road traffic extrication, foammaking, first aid, fire service communication among others.