From January to October 2023, the region recorded 181 fire cases, compared to 216 within the same period last year, he said, and expressed the wish that it would record zero incidence of fire to save lives and property.

Speaking at the regional inauguration of a five- member fire safety task force to educate the public on the precautionary measures, DOI Tetteh noted that control management and acquisition of fire safety certificate and permit when putting up buildings were mandatory.

He said every household must acquire fire detectors and extinguishers before being issued with a fire certificate and urged the public to participate in safety training programmes to enable them to escape from fire emergencies.

DOI Tetteh said the Regional Fire Service had not relented in its duties in sensitising the public on the preventive measures, using personal interaction, public information centers, and the local radio stations to deliver.

He believed fire safety was a shared responsibility and asked the public to cooperate with the task force to carry out its mandate to minimise the occurrences of fire.

Divisional Officer III Paulina Jatuant, the Regional Fire Safety Inspector, said the taskforce would visit all categories of premises to inspect fire certificate and urged the members to deliver on their mandate to achieve the best results.

She said the fire safety department would continue to team up with other stakeholder agencies to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the bye-laws.