The Fire Academy and Training School on Friday, June 21, 2019 passed out 511 fire men and women to support the execution of Service’s mission of providing efficient and valued fire and rescue services to the citizenry.
The recruits comprised of Senior High, Vocational/Technical and City and Guilds School leavers who had successfully completed the ‘Recruit Course 49’ by being trained and exposed to the rudiments of the fire fighting profession.
Among the subjects studied were Fire Science, Fire Safety, Building Construction, Fire Service Management, Written Communication, Fire Drills, Road Traffic Extrication, Hydraulics, Chemistry of Combustion, Bush Fires, Electricity, Fire precautions in Premises, Breathing Apparatus, First Aid, Physical Training, and Foot Drills.
The passing out ceremony included inspection of parade by the Reviewing Officer accompanied by the Chief Fire Officer and Commandant, trooping of band, march past in slow and quick time by firemen and women, parade advance in reviewing order, presentation of awards to deserving recruits, and swearing in of recruits.
Awards were given to deserving recruits under various categories including best academic performing and best Foot Drills recruit; with Recruit Fireman Alex Aduonoo emerging the overall best recruit.
Mr Ambrose Dery, the Minister for the Interior said in March this year, 398 recruits were passed out by the Service and additional 511 had been passed, which was the first time in the history of Ghana National Fire Service that such a huge number of recruits had passed out in a year.
“The joy is that with the passing out of these recruits, the fireman to citizens ratio has improved and stands at one fireman to 3,589 as opposed to the United Nations standard of fireman of one to 800 citizens,” he said.
He said with the industrialisation agenda of the Government taking root in the country, the Fire Service would play an important part in ensuring that investors and their investments were protected in order to achieve desired results.
This, he said, would open doors for many investors to troop into the country and create jobs for the youth.
He said the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo was aware of the challenges confronting the Service and was determined to support it to transform it into an institution capable of delivering world class fire and rescue services.
Mr Dery said the welfare of the personnel was government’s priority and work was ongoing via through Counsels and Management to transform the personnel’s conditions of service into new and improved administrative regulations, which would be passed by Parliament.
In consultation with the Fire Service Counsel, the Minister said government was exploring ways to increase the Service’s generated fund to develop the Service.
He said in April 2019, a total of 2,523 fire outbreaks were recorded as compared to 2,646 fire outbreaks in 2018, which indicated a reduction of 4.5 per cent in the number of fire outbreaks in the country.
However, he said, there was more to be done to reduce it by a higher percentage.
“I urge the Service to engage more with the public so that they can understand your mode of operation, so as to earn their support in the achievements of organisational goals and targets and I congratulate my recruits on their show of endurance and fortitude throughout of these months of fierce training,” he said.
Source: GNA
