GNFS Boss Dithers�About Shortage Of Fire Fighting Chemical

If the Chief Fire Officer of the Ghana National Fire Services, Dr Albert Brown Gaisie, does not wake from his long dither, personnel of the service are not likely to respond to distress calls from the public if the June 3 disaster; which plunged off over 159 Ghanaians decides to play out again.

Information available to this paper is that the fire service personnel are mightily unhappy that Dr Albert Brown Gaisie is snoring on the job whilst there is an acute shortage of an essential fire fighting chemical- Foam Compound.

Consequently, insiders say morale in the various service stations are down because long after their boss was informed about the shortage of the chemical, the chief fire officer has done nothing to respond to the situation even though he is aware of the impact the shortage would have on the service’s fire combating agenda.

“Tema, for instance, is supposed to have 250 drums of the Foam Compound, as well as some reserves but as I speak to you it has only one l, so assuming the June 3 incident happens again and we are unable to combat it who will you blame?”, a junior fire fighting officer told this paper under condition of strict anonymity, for fear of victimization.

 The whole of Greater Accra region and its surroundings, sources say, have no foam compound for use in case of any fire outbreak and that even “headquarters is calling for foam compound from the Eastern and Upper West Regions”. Plus, the service is now looking for a cargo to load the few drums that are coming from the Upper East region.

Despite all these challenges, not even the over-the-phone directives from influence peddlers in the government for the fire service boss to ensure that the chemical is supplied to the service without delay would prompt Dr Albert Brown Gaisie to order for the supply of the chemical to the service.

“We have made several complaints to the man in writing and verbal but he won’t budge. It’s as if he doesn’t care what happens to the personnel who are suppose to fight the fire or even the backlash we will get should any disaster happen and we are unable to attend to it”, another fore officer, this time a senior told this reporter over the weekend.

Our checks however revealed that the foam compound is mainly produced in India, where a number of countries, including USA, Britain, Egypt, among others, get their supply.