A team of officers from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has begun a nationwide door-to-door LPG Safety Campaign to educate the public on the use of liquefied petroleum gas.

On the first leg of the campaign, officers of the NPA visited selected communities in the Central region.

The team, from the Corporate Affairs Division, visited several eateries in the Mankessim, Komenda and Cape Coast areas, where vendors were educated on the appropriate use of LPG cylinders at their business centres and homes.

The sensitization exercise is part of a policy programme by the Authority to ensure the previous spate of LPG related accidents including explosions and fire outbreaks in the parts of the country, are not repeated.  

A resident of Mankessim commended officers for the exercise and appealed for the exercise to be extended beyond “chop bars” and restaurants.

Akosua Theresa said, “I have some family members who suffered from previous fire incidents due to gas leakages from poorly connected tubes.”

Her sentiments were reiterated by one Augustin Dadzie, a resident at Komenda, a fishing village near Elmina.

During an initial visit to Pempamsie Hotel in Cape Coast, last year, the officers discovered the cylinders were not only exposed to the sun but the valves had become weak and needed to be replaced.

However, the situation at the moment is very much improved, as management of the hotel has not only addressed the problem, but provided roofs to shield the cylinders from the baking sun.