The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), has donated 600 mobile phones to Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at a cost of GH¢120,000.
The support is to ensure that all of the service centres of GNFS are able to communicate and respond to fire, road and other accidents without delay.
Mr Kofi Attor, Administrator of GIFEC said in order for the GNFS to function effectively there should be an ease of communication while mobile phones should be a necessity and not a luxury to be divorced from the service.
He said: "Now a days, fires are engulfing many buildings and public places such as markets, and with the service now having access to mobile phones, the response level to fires should be quicker."
Mr Attor reiterated GIFEC's commitment to ensure that the ordinary person lives free of anxiety from fire, hence the desire to support the Service.
He said it is unfortunate that the Service's work is hampered by the inaccessibility to fire scenes and inability to respond quickly to calls to accident scenes, stressing: "That is why GIFEC has chosen to support the GNFS to carry out its mandate."
Mr Attor said the fund would increase the number of phones to the GNFS to ensure its rapid respond to calls to help avert disasters even in the remotest parts of the country and also serve the unserved and underserved communities.
Brigadier General J.B.E. Guyiri, Chief Fire Officer said the 600 handsets would help alleviate the communication problems of the GNFS and enable officers to ably communicate among themselves, and share information with communities to ensure that information on fire outbreaks would be carried across speedily, to enable the service perform its duties effectively.
He said considering the current service strength and the daily occurrences of fires and road accidents, the GNFS would require more of such gadgets to facilitate rapid communication and information gathering for immediate responses when such unfortunate situations occur anywhere in Ghana.
Brig. Guyiri said: I am very happy that now the Service has at its disposal such essential equipment such as the mobile phone, to deploy all over the country for the benefit of society.
"This support has come at a very critical period in the life of the Service, and we will ensure that the phones are put to optimum use, to save lives and properties of the people of Ghana."
GIFEC has supported the GNFS Training School with 45 computers, a scanner, a projector, an air conditioner, a server and a printer and provided the facility with internet service.