Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) Owusu Adjei, Rural Fire Director of the Ghana National Fire Service has disclosed that Ghana loses three percent of its total revenue to fire outbreaks across all levels.
He added that bush fires alone have destroyed over 50 percent of land cover, turned the forest into the desert, destroyed soil nutrients, and killed over 60 percent of bush animals.
He said the regular occurrence of fire incidents is depriving the nation of millions of cedis which could have gone into other sectors of the economy.
Owusu Adjei explained that the cause of outbreaks including domestic, industrial, vehicular, institutional, electrical, commercial, bush, and others is a threat to the economy, national life, safety, security, and stability of the state.
He has therefore underscored the need for Ghanaians to adopt safety measures to help reduce outbreaks in the country.
He stressed that bush fires do not only cause havoc to the forest and wildlife, but also impoverish the soil by destroying organic matter in the soil, and increasing leaching, wind, and water erosion.
Owusu Adjei explained to Nkyeremu news that about 98 percent of bush fires are caused by hunting, bush burning, bush smokers among others.
He has pleaded with the traditional chiefs to help curb these unfortunate human error disasters which mostly occur in rural communities.
