Let’s respect, appreciate work of fire-fighters

 Dear Editor,

Over the years, I have observed how most Gha­naians have treated fire-fighters when there is a fire outbreak, after they have been called to help put off fire to save lives and properties.

It is sad to say that most of these fire-fighters are often treated with disrespect; I find it very disturbing.

I witnessed an incident during the recent fire outbreak in Adum, Kumasi, where a young man tried to attack a fire-fighter for reasons best known to him.

The incident has since gone viral on social media.

As a country, we are all aware of the difficult circumstances under which the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) works, a condition people tend to put a blind eye on.

People needlessly chastise them for arriving late to extinguish fire.

There had been a number of issues the fire service faces, such as inadequate fire tenders and other logistics that tend to affect the service they provide.

An uncle of mine, who used to be in the fire service, once told me that most of the fire tenders that were packed at the various fire stations across the country were broken down or not functioning.

Aside the fact that most of the fire tenders were not functioning, access to fire scenes such as markets sometimes become a challenge due to lack of space for tenders to navigate through.

With all these challenges, it becomes unacceptable for Ghanaians to attack fire-fighters during fire outbreaks. What we tend to forget is that most of these firefighters put their lives at risk in trying to put off fires and some of them even get burned and sustain various degrees of injuries in the process.

While I call on Ghanaians to desist from such an act, I would also like to appeal to the government to adequately resource the Ghana National Fire Service to ensure that the security agency works effectively to protect lives and properties.

Also, there is the need for the country to look at how markets are constructed to ensure that there is easy access to them in case of emergencies such as fire outbreaks.

Lilian Osei