The Brong-Ahafo Regional command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) with effect from January 2012 will begin prosecuting private institutions in the Region without fire certificates. Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Kwame Larbi Apraku, Acting Regional Commander of the Service, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani on Thursday said institutions that did not also have fire extinguishers at their premises would be taken on. He said the GNFS would educate and issue out fire certificates to 200 public institutions in the Region early next year. ACFO Apraku observed that even though some public and private institutions had procured and installed fire extinguishers at their premises, they lacked knowledge about fire prevention and suppression. He explained that the exercise had become necessary because of the huge damage that fire caused to property and the attendant loss to the country. ACFO Apraku said from January to December 2011, fire outbreaks caused extensive damages to property worth more than GHc170 million in the Region. He said with the onset of the Harmattan, it had been estimated that bush and domestic fire outbreaks would increase, which explained why the Service had intensified public education on fire fighting from house to house and in basic schools. To this end, ACFO Apraku said the GNFS had trained 2,000 fire volunteers in the Region to augment efforts of the Service in fire prevention and suppression. The Acting Regional Commander said the Service attended to 52 road traffic accidents with 45 deaths in 2011. ACFO Apraku added that it was also the responsibility of the GNFS to attend to and rescue accident victims.