Source: newsthemegh.com
On Friday, January 19, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President of the Republic, officially opened the Fire Service Academy and Training School in Wungu, North East Region.
The state-of-the-art building is the first fire academy and training school in the north and the second in Ghana, after the only one in James Town, Accra. It has a three-story administration block, classrooms, male and female dormitories, and a dining hall. It is also outfitted with modern training equipment.
In addition to providing bushfire volunteers with skills and knowledge in bushfire management, the school will conduct a wide range of extensive training programs in areas such as rescue, evacuation, decontamination, fire prevention, fire suppression, rescue operations, and hazardous materials management.
Speaking at the commissioning, Vice President Bawumia—who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer for this year’s elections—stated that the government’s commitment to increasing Ghana’s fire training capacity beyond what has existed since independence is demonstrated by the training school’s opening.
“Dr. Bawumia stated that the commissioning of this new Fire Academy and Training School at Wungu represents a significant turning point for the Ghana National Fire Service, the Wungu community, and the country as a whole.”
“There was only one fire training school in Ghana, at James Town, when we took office in 2017.” It was crucial to raise the number of training schools in Ghana because of the significance of fire service in that country. We therefore chose to raise it to four.
Dr. Bawumia pointed out that the NPP administration is constructing three new training schools, the second of which is scheduled to be commissioned, starting with the commissioning of the Wungu Fire Academy and Training School.
“With this commissioning, Ghana will have its second Fire Service Training School. We will commission the third in Duayaw Nkwanta very soon, and the fourth before the year is out,” he stated.
He praised the NPP’s outstanding efforts to expand the country’s one training school since independence to three, as well as the government’s dedication to the ongoing retooling of the Fire Service. He also emphasized the notable rise in the number of personnel in the Fire Service.
This indicates that we have only had one fire service training school in our sixty years of freedom. According to Dr. Bawumia, we will now have four under our government.
The number of police was 7000 when we took office. We have grown the number of fire service employees from 7000 to 15,000 in just 7 years under the NPP,” he continued.
The Vice President emphasized how crucial firefighting is and how challenging it may be, which is why they need to be properly equipped.
“Firefighting is a critical aspect of emergency response, and having a dedicated facility such as this away from Accra will greatly enhance the training of our firefighters and ensure the delivery of the services provided by the Ghana National Fire Service and ultimately save lives in the country.
“Fire and other incidents can be incredibly devastating, and it is our duty as leaders to ensure that we equip our firefighters with the necessary skills and tools to effectively manage any situation be it fire or other emergencies,” Dr. Bawumia said.