The Ghana National Fire Service has revealed that majority of senior high schools in the country are not adhering to the fire safety regulations mandated by law.
The GNFS has thus urged heads of second cycle institutions to the implement fire safety measures recommended to them by the service.
[contextly_sidebar id=”beaHMOu8DPEHa2OHEI3LLBsOzpGppQRP”]This follows the fire incident that ravaged a girls’ dormitory at the Ghana Senior High School (GHANASS) at Koforidua in the Eastern Region on Thursday.
The incident has affected academic work at the school with form one and two students having been asked return to their homes for at least three weeks.
Schools are not applying fire safety measures
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Regional Fire Service, Samuel Martey, most of the senior high schools are not abiding by the safety measures in the Legislative Instrument (LI) overseeing such matters.
“What we have noticed is that most of the secondary schools have failed to implement the fire safety measures recommended to them by the fire service. When we go there and we give them advice, implementation is always the problem,” Mr Martey explained.
He stated that the ability of the schools to comply with such measures will help make the fighting of fires easier should they occur in schools.
“We want to advise them to try as much as possible to implement most of the safety measures we have recommended to them and through that, the fires will be curbed.”
The PRO further emphasized the the LI mandates every school which also qualifies as a public building to have a fire certificate and adequate fire fighting equipment.
“Per our regulations, that is LI 1724, every public buildings must have a fire certificate and before the fire certificate will be issued, we ensure that the place has adequate firefighting equipment… these things keep the building safe for the occupants and we are urging the institutions to comply with the LI.”
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By Delali Adogla-Bessa/citimonline.com/Ghana