Ministries Fire Station in Accra marks 10th anniversary — MyJoyOnline

Ministries Fire Station in Accra, Ghana, marked a decade of service with a thanksgiving ceremony. Current and former station personnel, officials and community representatives gathered for the event, MyJoyOnline reports.

How the first team was formed

The station’s first district commander, ACFO II Rev. Naomi Ofori Adubea Sarpong, who now heads the Bono East regional fire service, recalled the events of 2015. At the time, she worked in the control room at Accra City Metro Fire Station and was tasked with selecting about 20 personnel for a new, as yet unnamed fire station.

According to Sarpong, she did not know that she herself would be assigned to lead the newly created unit. She admitted that she included mostly athletes and personnel who often arrived late or were absent due to competitions. Her then deputy regional commander, Veronica Komey, criticized this personnel selection.

A week before the station opened, regional fire service commander Ebenezer Simpson informed Sarpong that she had been appointed head of the unit. She said she was upset because she realized the consequences of her own team selection.

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Training and staff support

Sarpong led the station for about six years. According to her, together with the team, which was later joined by ADO II William Sekey, they introduced mutual staff training: more experienced specialists helped those with less experience. She also stated that Ministries Fire Station later became the best station in Accra.

During her tenure, the unit conducted fire safety training for employees of ministries, hotels and schools. A district social support system for personnel was also established which, according to the outlet, still operates and provides loans and supplies at the end of the month.

In 2020, Sarpong was appointed deputy regional fire service commander for Greater Accra, where she worked for four years. She was succeeded as station head by DO I Faustina Nelson Asiedu. At the anniversary, Evans Aggrey-Darko, head of Ghana’s Office of the Head of Civil Service, said he would help meet the needs of the fire service.