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The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has expressed worry over public intrusion and obstruction during fire and other accident emergencies.

It said rushing to fire emergencies or accident scenes had the potential to increase the number of casualties, often resulting in mass fatalities.

The Service is, therefore, calling on the public to always give fire fighters the space to operate and deliver the best results when attending to emergencies such as fire, accident, and explosion.

A statement signed by Mr Timothy Osafo-Affum, the Director of Public Affairs of the GNFS, and made available to the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi, said during accidents there was often spillage of fuel and other dangerous combustible substances, which could cause life threatening incidents such as explosions.

It said the heckling and invasion of the workspace of fire officers during the performance of their duties affected their psychological performance and decision making.

That, the statement said, tended to waste precious time needed for firefighting and rescue operations since the officers had to control the crowd.

“Therefore, all well-meaning Ghanaians are being entreated to help educate the public to desist from always running into emergency scenes as this has the potential to result in mass casualties,” it said.

It reminded the public not to hesitate to call the emergency lines 192 and 112 immediately they encountered fires, accidents and related emergencies and urged them to adhere to best safety practices at home and workplace, especially during the Harmattan season.

It would be recalled that public intrusion resulted in the massive casualties recorded in the recent Apiate explosion.

Most people who died or were severely injured were said to be among the crowd who had gathered at the accident scene before the explosion occurred.