Kumasi: The 83 fire service personnel at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) district fire station, who have been summarily transferred from the district, have called for a thorough investigation into the cause of the breakdown of the district's fire tender.
According to Ghana News Agency, the damage and subsequent breakdown of the district fire tender has been cited as the reason for the mass transfer of personnel from the district. The transfer, according to a source among the personnel who pleaded anonymity, is being used as a punishment for their alleged misconduct and negligence, which had led to the breakdown of the fire tender.
The source indicated that all the affected personnel have been accused of deliberately causing damage to the station's fire tender engine, which had been out of service for the past two years. The transferred staff have threatened to contest the decision until the truth is established to exonerate them.
The source also mentioned that the action was taken by the Ashanti Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) when the fire engine, which had been out of service for about two years, was sent to the Regional Mechanical workshop for servicing. It was at the workshop that stones were discovered in the engine, leading to the breakdown, and the mechanics blamed the problem on the staff.
However, the staff dispute this conclusion, arguing that the cause of the damage could only be determined through comprehensive forensic investigations. The Regional Directorate of the Service decided to transfer the staff to other stations within the region as part of measures to instill discipline. The source stated that all the affected staff have denied the allegations and insist that only forensic investigations could establish the facts.
The staff further argued that the station had a 24-hour CCTV camera, and any crime could have been easily captured, exposing the offender instead of victimizing the entire staff. Meanwhile, a team from the national headquarters of GNFS has been dispatched to the region to investigate the case. The staff have called for a halt to the transfers until the final outcome of the investigations is determined.