The Ashanti Regional Office of the Ghana National Fire Service has revealed a significant rise in prank calls, with the monthly count surpassing 20,000. This surge in non-emergency calls is posing a challenge to the efficient operation of the emergency response system in the region.
The upsurge has compelled officials to issue a warning to the public, underscoring its adverse effects on the Fire Service’s capacity to promptly respond to authentic emergencies.
ACFO 1 Henry Giwah, the Ashanti Regional Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service who expressed worry about the situation said the daily influx of more than 2,000 prank calls creates unnecessary hurdles for the Fire Service, diverting resources away from real emergencies.
The Regional Chief Fire Officer warned against such misuse and disclosed that measures are being implemented to collaborate with the police and the judicial service to prosecute such offenders.
“Prank calls persist”, Giwah said.
“Every day when you go to our control room, even right now. You see the number of prank calls that come. Averagely eighty to nighty per hour and over 2000 a day”.
“One thing we do is that when you call, because of these prank calls, when you call fire service, we always want to call you back. And even listen to the environment where you are. Sometimes we spend time to educate these callers and that divert attention to other emergencies. What we are doing is that we are compiling the names and forward them to the police to deal with them”, he stated.