Government is to acquire 75 new fire tenders from India, to properly equip the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to enable it effectively deliver on its mandate. Government had already distributed some new fire equipment to the various regional, metropolitan, municipal and district fire stations nationwide. Alhaji Amadu Bukari Sorogho, Chairman of the Fire Service Council, disclosed these when members of the Council met personnel of the GNFS in Wa on Thursday, during their visit to the Upper West Region. The Chairman of the Fire Service Council, who is also the Member of Parliament for Abokobi-Madina Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, announced that the council was working hard to ensure the localisation of the GNFS hot line so that people could report fire incidence directly to the regional fire stations. Alhaji Sorogho said government would continue to resource security agencies in the country and also improve upon the welfare of their personnel. He said government had increased the initial 2.1 billion cedis paid to personnel of the security services as salary to 6.1 billion cedis, under the Single Spine Salary Structure. Mr. Sorogho said that negotiations were far advanced for an undisclosed company to construct 6,000 housing units for personnel of the GNFS. He asked fire personnel to put resources that were being provided them by the government to effective use to save lives and property. Brigadier General J. B. E. Guyiri, Acting Chief Fire Officer, advised the GNFS personnel to upgrade their knowledge and skills to enable them to work effectively. Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Kwaku Manu Afful, Upper West Regional Fire Officer, thanked the Council for briefing them on government's plans to improve the GNFS and to listen to challenges confronting personnel in the region. He said since the provision of fire equipment, fire fighting in the region had improved. ACFO Afful, however, said there was an increase in recorded fire incidents from 57 in January to July 2011 to 90 during the same period in 2012. He said between January and July, 2012, 54 domestic fire incidents, 23 rural fires, six vehicular fires and seven industrial fires as well as three road traffic accidents were recorded. ACFO Afful appealed to the authorities to provide the regional fire office with public address system, rescue van, modern communication gadgets, and to construct an additional fire hydrant to facilitate fire fighting.