The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on Friday inaugurated the first phase of the Ghana National Fire Service Academy and Training School at Wungu, a farming community in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region.
This brings to two fire academy and training schools in Ghana.
The first being the Fire Academy and Training School at James Town in Accra, since independence.
The three-storey complex comprises classrooms, an administration block, male and female dormitories, and a dining hall.
It has modern training equipment, including two hydraulic platforms each of which is 72 metres tall and can reach the 16th floor to fight fire and rescue victims.
The construction of the Wungu Fire Academy and Training School started in the last year of February 2023 and completed in November 2023 and was executed by Kaboore Construction Limited, a Ghana-based firm.
The Vice President, in a speech said this was in fulfilment of government decision to have three more fire service academy and training schools in the country
He said the James Town training school was not enough to recruit more officers into the service, hence the need to add more.
The three training schools he mentioned included Wungu academy school in the North East Region, Dua-Yaw Nkwanta in the Ahafo Region and Kyebi in the Eastern Region.
Dr Bawumia said the remaining two training schools were expected to be completed and commissioned by the end of the year.
“Our government’s commitment to increasing the strength and capacity of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) is also underlined by the over 100-per cent increase in personnel, from 7000 to 15,000 in the past 7 years,” he stated.
He said fire firefighting was a critical aspect of emergency response and the fire schools would go a long way to enhance the training of the firefighters to ensure the delivery of the service provided by the GNFS in the area.
“As we all know, fire incidents can be incredibly devastating, and it is our duty as leaders to ensure that we equip our firefighters with the necessary skills and tools to effectively manage any situation being it fire or other emergency situations,” he said.
The Vice President also stated that the training facility would help in the development of the Wungu community.
Dr Bawumia thanked the chiefs, elders and people of Wungu for their support and commitment to the fire-fighting and for offering the vast land for the Wungu Fire Academy and Training School.
The Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Mr Julius A. Kuunuor, thanked the government for the tremendous support given to the service.
He said the Wungu training school was a evident of the government’s dedication to providing state-of-the art facilities for the comprehensive training for the firefighters.
The CFO added that the training school would serve as a beacon of knowledge, fostering a culture of excellence and professionalism among the firefighters and rescuers, as well as fire volunteers and safety officers of other organisations or institutions in the northern belt of the country.
In attendance were traditional leaders of the Mamprugu Traditional Area led by Nba Wunaaba, Naazori Saaka Sulemana, the Paramount Chief of the Wungu Traditional Area.
Minsters and Members of Parliament (MPs) who graced the event were the Walewale MP, Hajia Lariba Abudu Zuweira, the Minister for the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery, the Deputy Minister of Transportation and MP for Gusheigu, Hassan Tampuli, the North East Regional Minister, Mr Yidana Zakaria, and other government functionaries
FROM YAHAYA NUHU NADAA, WUNGU
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