The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and Ulster University in Northern Ireland, are working on a fire safety syllabus for basic schools.
The Acting Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Daniella Mawusi Ntow Sapong, said the initiative is to help the children learn fire safety in school, grow up to understand the importance of being safe, and become ambassadors for safety in their homes and communities.
She said this at the Ghana National Fire Service’s National Safety Awards 2025, held at the Headquarters, where the Minister for Interior, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, together with some service personnel, civilians, and corporate institutions, were honoured for their contributions towards fire safety promotion.
CFO Sapong said, “The fire safety syllabus will help shape the country for a safer future. I commend the team putting up the syllabus, but let us also remember to teach our children how to be safe. Let us take care in our homes, schools, and workplaces. Let us make safety a habit for everyone.”
She said the GNFS wore many hats as safety officers, teachers, rescuers, investigators, and partners in building a safer country; however, they could not do it alone and needed the public’s support and collaboration.
“We are asking corporate Ghana and individuals to support us, not just with words but with actions to build the capacity of our workforce to serve them better, get better equipment and logistics to reach more communities with the gospel of safety,” she said.
The Acting CFO said the National Safety Awards were about building a lasting culture where every Ghanaian, whether young or old, embraced safety as a way of life in homes, schools, workplaces, roads, farms, markets, and public spaces.
She said GNFS personnel had, through their hard work and dedication, issued out over 41,000 fire certificates, given out over 9000 fire permits and carried out 32,626 fire safety audits and inspections in the past two years.
They had also held over 33,000 public education sessions across the country and helped save over GH₵354 million worth of properties from fire ruins in the past two years.
In the first half of 2025, GNFS recorded 3,595 fire cases compared to 3,576 during the same period in 2024, a marginal increase of 0.53% and that the GNFS attributed to the rise in fire cases because people did not follow basic fire safety rules coupled with bad weather in the first quarter of 2025.
Project Lead for the National Safety Awards 2025, Joseph T. D. Narnor Jnr, said the awards were not given on any financial commitments but true recognition of those who demonstrated commitment to promoting fire safety.
He said they dreamed of a Ghana where every child knew “safety first” before they played, every community trained responders – not just in uniform but in heart and skill and a Ghana where safety would not be an afterthought but the foundation of how citizens lived, worked, and grew.
The Minister was honoured with a citation and plaque for his support of fire safety initiatives.
Other honourees included Chief Fire Officer (CFO) (Rtd) Julius Aalebkure Kuunor, Acting CFO Daniella Mawusi Ntow Sapong, DCFO (Rtd) Paa Kwasi Adu Twum, DCFO (Rtd) Tonny K Lawoe, DCFO (Rtd) Kwame Kwateng, DOI Michael Ato Korsah and GNA’s Chief Reporter, Samira Larbi. Corporate institutions were also recognised.
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