Interior Minister Announces Insurance for Firefighters, Calls for Stronger Fire Safety

THE MINISTER for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has announced a new insurance package for firefighters during the passing-out parade of Course 55 of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), held today, Friday, June 20, 2025, at the Fire Academy and Training School in Jamestown.

In his address, the Minister stated that to boost morale and provide security for all Fire Service Personnel, the government has introduced a new insurance scheme. This insurance affords firefighters who suffer non-permanent injuries in the line of duty a chance of receiving GH? 50,000.00, while permanent injuries will get GH?100,000.00, and the same amount will be paid in the event of the death of an officer while on duty. Natural deaths while in service will also attract a GH? 50,000.00 benefit.

He further emphasized that the insurance initiative is just the beginning of efforts by the government to improve firefighter welfare, emphasizing that more support in terms of logistics and resources is in the pipeline to help retool the service.

The Minister congratulated the 1,658 recruits, made up of 843 men and 815 women, for completing their 8-month-long training in basic firefighting. He praised their resilience and discipline and urged them to serve the nation with integrity and dedication.

He revealed that the GNFS recorded 2,261 fire incidents in the first quarter of 2025, slightly lower than the 2,313 cases reported during the same period last year. Although this shows a 2.3% reduction, he described the figure as alarming and called for stronger public commitment to fire prevention.

He also raised concerns about the increasing number of prank calls made to the Fire Service’s emergency lines. He warned that such calls waste time and resources, delay responses to real emergencies, and can cost lives. He appealed to the public, especially the youth, to treat emergency numbers with seriousness and responsibility.