Vice President Dr Mahanudu Bawumia has commissioned a fire service Academy and Training School in Wungu in the North East Region.
The state-of-the-art facility, with a three-storey administration block, is the first fire academy and training school in the north and the 2nd in Ghana after the only one in James Town, Accra.
The school will undertake a range of comprehensive training programmes, including rescue, evacuation, decontamination, fire prevention, fire suppression, rescue operations and hazardous materials management, as well as training of bushfire volunteers with skills and knowledge in bushfire management.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Vice President Bawumia said the opening of the training school demonstrates the commitment of the government to expanding Ghana’s fire training capacity to an acceptable standard.
“The commissioning of this new Fire Academy and Training School at Wungu, marks an important milestone for the Ghana National Fire Service, the Wungu community and the nation as a whole.
“When we assumed office in 2017, there was only one fire training school in Ghana at James Town. Given the importance of fire service in Ghana, it was important to increase the number of training Schools in Ghana. So we decided to increase it tofour,” Dr. Bawumia said.
The commissioning of the Wungu Fire Academy and Training School, Dr Bawumia said, is the first of three new training schools the NPP Government is building, with the second also set to be commissioned soon.
The third, he said, would be Commissioned in Duayaw Nkwanta and the 4th would be commissioned before the end of this year.
Dr Bawumia also highlighted the significant increase in fire service personnel, as well as the government’s commitment to continuous re-tooling of the Fire Service.
“What this means is that in 60 years of independence, we had only one fire service training school. Now, we are going to have four under our government.
“Before 2017, the country had 7000 fire service personnel and under seven years of the NPP, the service’s staff strength increased from 7000 to 15,000,” Dr Bawumia said.
The Vice President underscored the importance of firefighting and the difficulties associated with it, hence the need to adequately equip them.
“Firefighting is a critical aspect of emergency response and having a dedicated facility such as this away from Accra will greatly enhance the training of our firefighters and ensure the delivery of the services provided by the Ghana National Fire Service and ultimately save lives in the country.
“Fire and other incidents can be incredibly devastating and it is our duty as leaders to ensure that we equip our firefighters with the necessary skills and tools to effectively manage any situation be it fire or other emergencies,” Dr Bawumia said.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
