Interior Ministry to deploy 24-hour firefighters in markets nationwide

Muntaka Mubarak,  the Minister for Interior, is about to introduce a program that would lead to deployment of fire brigades who will take close looks at the markets across the country on a 24-hour basis.

Muntaka Mubarak disclosed its plans to collaborate with the Ministry of Youth Development to provide benefit to eligible individuals under the Youth Employment module who will be trained thoroughly to support fire prevention and control.

Fire incidents have resulted in significant losses in a lot markets within the country. The  Blue Light Section being the most notable incident of the Kumasi Central Business District.

With the quest to reduce the fire outbreaks, Muntaka Mubarak stressed that more efforts are needed to address market fires in the country.

Muntaka Mubarak expressed that “The other thing that we want to do, which will require further assistance and seek your support, is to maintain firefighting teams in all our markets. Here, we can’t depend on firefighters alone because their numbers will not suffice to cover all our markets. So, we are currently in talks with the Minister for Youth Development.”

He added that “The Youth Employment model employs many youths; give them to us, and we will train them in fire safety and other related areas so that they can join the fire safety officers.

He stated that “This way, we can man our markets 24/7 so that when something happens, they can start the extinguishing process since they know while they call the fire service tenders to come. This requires innovation and partnership.”