The Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Security, Disaster, and Emergency Studies, Dr Ishmael Norman has stated that the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) lacks the required equipment for what he called high task jobs.

According to Dr Norman, GNFS should be able to use part of their budgetary allocation to procure appropriate materials and equipment for high task jobs.

He was speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Tuesday. the subject for discussion was how the GNFS handled the fire that broke out in a four-storey building at the Makola Market in Accra, Monday.

“I think that they don’t have the equipment to do these kinds of jobs and the question is why? Because every year, they are given money to buy equipment so how come they are not looking at the structure of our buildings and the architecture so that when they are buying equipment, it will be suitable for the buildings that we have in the country,” he said.

He wondered why the fire personnel are unable to apply what they learn during training.

“The Ghana Fire Service has very good training programmes but the problem is we learn in the classroom but we do not know how to apply things,” Dr Norman said.

The fire, which started Monday morning, ravaged portions of a four-storey building and destroyed valuables running into millions of Ghana cedis. It took fire officers close to 7 hours before bringing the fire under control.

Meanwhile, the fire has reignited Tuesday morning, hours after officers from the Ghana National Fire Service doused the blaze late Monday evening.