The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has commenced a safety auditing exercise at the Regional and District offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) to prevent any eventuality of a fire incident, which will disrupt the Commission’s operations.

The exercise formed part of efforts to provide safety to state institutions and organisations for national security purposes to ensure political stability for socio-economic progress.

“As the Election 2020 approaches, some miscreants and aggrieved persons might want to carry out arson to destroy the EC’s offices, election materials - ballot papers, equipment and other technological and digital devices to draw back its progress concerning the conduct of the impending December 7 presidential and parliamentary polls”.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Mr. George Anim Frimpong, the Bono East Regional Fire Commander told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Techiman.

ACFO Frimpong said besides the EC, the exercise would cover other institutions such as the Senior High Schools and tertiary institutions to ensure certain practices including illegal connections by students and other persons would come to a halt for the safety of lives and properties.

ACFO Frimpong explained the need to call the Fire Service first to the accident scene is to save accident victims during that period termed as "the golden hour" where a victim might be in a dying moment and needed immediate attention.

According to him, between January to August this year, the Service attended to 81 fire cases, 21 road crashes and recorded 51 deaths.

He said many of the telephone calls were directed to the Police instead of the Fire Service and urged the public to rather direct those calls to the Fire Service because that is its core mandate.

ACFO Frimpong said properties destroyed during that period valued at GH¢1,122,958.00 and entreated the general public to adhere to safety measures outlined by the Fire service to keep lives and properties safe.

He reiterated the GNFS’s commitment to be timely and responsive to the people for the protection of lives and properties and urged that the Service must always be called on 112 for any emergency.