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Almost all the explosions that have occurred at gas filling stations in the country were as a result of wrongful offloading of gas, an investigation by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has revealed.
Consequently, the service has directed that the offloading of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) should be done in the presence of GNFS personnel to ensure safety.
The Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Mr Prince Billy Anaglate, who disclosed this in an interview, said before gas was offloaded, there were a number of safety measures that needed to be followed.
He noted that the directive to have a fire engine around before LPG was offloaded was one of many measures to bring sanity to LPG stations to prevent the recurrence of explosions.
He said in areas where there was no fire engine, fire officers present at the time of offloading would be expected to be on the alert with fire-fighting equipment.
Fire cover
Mr Anaglate explained that the directive was not new to the industry, adding: “Years ago, before any gas filling station could offload gas, it had to inform the Fire Service that it was going to offload gas.”
He said that enabled the GNFS to give the station a fire cover, “but, unfortunately, for some time dealers are no longer adhering to that regulation”.
He added that all attendants at gas filling stations, including tanker drivers, were required to be trained by the GNFS, after which they would be presented with certificates.
He expressed confidence that with the award of certificates, it would be easy to monitor and ensure that only trained people were engaged as gas station attendants.
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