A simulation fire fighting exercise undertaken by personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) on the Cedi House tower in Accra yesterday morning, almost turned disastrous, when a female fire officer fell from the high-rise building during the exercise. The officer, identified only as Hannah, was immediately rushed to the 37 Military Hospital, where she was said to be responding to treatment. Hannah was being 'rescued' from the 5th floor of the 13-storey building using what fire officials described as the "Knot Chair" technique whereby an unconscious person trapped in a fire situation on a high-rise facility is put in a chair on which a rope is tied and then lowered through a window to safety. According to the Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Mr Prince Billy Anaglate, while Hannah was being 'rescued', the rope tied to the chair tore at a certain point in the rescue operation, leading to the fall. He said the rope might have torn due to weakness, or perhaps, due to the fact that it had been used for a long time. The simulation exercise attracted the attention of a large crowd, including hawkers, workers on the Cedi House and others who had gone to transact business in and around the building, many of whom thought the exercise was real. The accident heightened the anxiety of onlookers and caused a brief disruption in activities in and around the building as people rushed to the premises to witness what was happening. Mr Anaglate said the simulation exercise was a regular activity organised by the GNFS on the Cedi House and other high-rise buildings with the view to testing the readiness of fire service personnel to deal with such situations whenever they occurred. He said the essence was also to train workers on the building on how to manage fire situations. Source: Daily Graphic