Wungu gets Ghana's second Fire Academy, Training School
A Fire Academy and Training School (FATS) at Wungu, near Walewale in the North East Region has been inaugurated for the training of personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
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The facility is the second fire training school in Ghana since independence after the main FATS in Accra.
It consists of a three-storey administration block, a block of classrooms, male and female dormitories, a dining hall, and also equipped with modern training equipment.
Inaugurating the school last Friday (Jan.19), the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, said fire fighting was a critical aspect of emergency response and having a dedicated facility would greatly help the training of firefighters to ultimately save lives and properties.
He said the new training school was in fulfilment of the government’s commitment to add three more fire service training schools to the only one in the country.
Another training school
The Vice-President indicated that the third training school in Duayaw Nkwanta would soon be inaugurated, while the fourth was expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Dr Bawumia stated that the establishment of additional FATS would present an opportunity for research and development in the field of firefighting by collaborating with experts in the industry to develop new strategies and technology to improve response capabilities.
Fire Academy and Training School at Wungu
He added that the additional training schools would increase enrolment and said that the government had already increased the number of enrolment of fire personnel from 7,000 to 15, 000 in the past seven years.
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"Every year, about three per cent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) is lost to bushfire and as a nation, we cannot be unconcerned when we lose a substantial amount to bushfire.
“The fire training school will play a crucial role in advancing our fire service delivery and keeping our community protected as we face new challenges in emergency response, it's important to remain adaptable to innovation and improve fire control," he said.
Release lands
While urging the traditional authorities to continue to release lands for developmental projects, Vice-President Bawumia also announced plans by the government to construct the North East Regional Fire Service Headquarters in Nalerigu as soon as possible.
The Chief Fire Officer of the GNFS, CFO Julius Aalebkure Kuunuor, commended the government for establishing the training school to facilitate and enhance the training activities of the service.
He noted that the school would serve as a beacon of knowledge, fostering a culture of excellence and professionalism among firefighters, rescuers, volunteers and safety officers of other institutions.
"Our collective hard work in sensitising the populace to fire and other incidents prevention and control, the service has recorded a decrease in fire outbreaks for the year 2023 from 6,154 fire outbreaks in 2022 to 5,973 in 2023," he added.
Appeal
The Overlord of Mamprugu, Nayiri Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, lauded the government for bringing such a novel developmental project to the region.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Registrar of the Mamprugu Traditional Council, Abdualai Mohammed, the Overlord noted that the region currently had only two functional fire tenders, a situation which was hampering firefighting.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to provide more fire tenders to the region to beef up the existing ones.
Writer's email: mohammed.fugu@graphic.com.gh