A total of 168 fire outbreaks were recorded between January and March this year, destroying property estimated at about GH₵ 184,991.
Within the same period last year, 333 outbreaks were recorded, destroying property worth GH₵ 1, 539,261.
Assistant Divisional Officer Two (ADO11) Henrietta Budu, Public Relations Officer of the Brong-Ahafo Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani on Tuesday.
She said properties destroyed in January, February and March this year were valued at GH₵ 80,621, GH₵ 25,810 and GH₵ 78,560 respectively
In January last year, property destroyed was estimated at about GH₵ 916,666, while February and March recorded GH₵ 603,435 and GH₵ 19,160 respectively.
Ms Budu explained that most of the properties were destroyed by bushfires and out of the 168 fires this year, domestic fires topped the list with 95 cases.
Bush fires recorded 43 cases, commercial fires 11, a vehicle fire and nine other fires.
On the reduction of fire outbreaks within the period, Ms Budu explained that some interventions undertaken included educating the public in the various churches and mosques, in schools and through the mass media.
She said with the assistance of the Ministry of Education, a syllabus had been put together for Junior and Senior High Schools, and would soon be extended to the Tertiary Institutions.
Ms Budu disclosed that personnel from the service have visited some JHS and SSS in the Sunyani Municipality, and hoped the education campaign would be extended to schools in other districts in the Region.
She said a major challenge confronting the Directorate was the unco-operative attitudes of the public during house-to-house education, and called for an attitudinal change.
Ms Budu cautioned financial institutions, public and private institutions to obtain fire certificates because institutions without fire certificates would soon be closed down.
