The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has launched an operation to identify those responsible for the unlawful construction of speed humps on highways in the Volta Region so that they can be prosecuted quickly.
"We will do this in partnership with the municipal and district assemblies," said Assistant Chief Fire Officer One (ACFO 1) Joy Ameyibor Ayim, the Volta Regional GNFS Commander.
He estimated that there were roughly 200 of these humps in the Volta Region alone, posing a severe risk to vehicles and hampering GNFS distress call replies and rescue operations.
He was speaking to the Daily Graphic last Friday after service members took part in a march through Ho's streets as part of festivities commemorating this year's Fire Safety Week.
The topic of the event was "Safety Environment — Key to Investment."
The speed humps, according to ACFO1 Ayim, were composed of basic materials including tree stems, boulders, and clay, which might force fast cars to deviate off the road as well as damage the road.
Fire engines were obliged to slow down at the humps, according to ACFO1 Ayim, who said that even the smallest delay in a rescue or emergency operation might cost lives and harm property on a large scale.
"Apart from that, the fire engines are large, with some having a 3,000-gallon water capacity, and such impediments on the road might create horrific accidents," stated the regional GNFS commander.
Apart from the unlawful and unapproved speed humps, the commander noted that some traders in some localities build their businesses out of shipping containers and place them on fire hydrants, which was a major cause of concern.
Ruthless
In fact, he stated that the GNFS would be brutal in its efforts to restore sanity to the roads and neighborhoods as far as the service's activities were concerned.
Concerning fire breakouts in the region, ACFO 1 Ayim stated that there were 451 such events last year, with 145 of them being house fires.
There were also 95 bush fires, 38 electrical fires, 33 vehicle fires, 41 business fires, and 28 accident fires. He said there had been 345 fire breakouts in the region this year, with household instances accounting for 130, wild fires for 84, business fire outbreaks for 38, and accidents for 41, with the remainder being electrical and vehicular incidents.
ACFO1 Ayim reminded the public that it was everyone's obligation to make deliberate and continuous efforts to prevent fires at home, at work, and anywhere else.
Meanwhile, the Daily Graphic discovered that several shopkeepers along the Ho-Denu route purposefully built speed humps on the road to force cars to stop by their booths.