The Northern Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has raised concern over a sharp rise in prank emergency calls, disclosing that it received about 67,200 false calls in 2025, including 1,400 in a single week and more than 100 in one day.
According to the Command, the prank calls diverted critical emergency resources and posed serious risks to lives and property by disrupting responses to genuine emergencies.
The disclosure was contained in the Service’s year-end performance report dated January 13, 2026, which also outlined fire and rescue statistics for the period under review.
Between January 1 and December 31, 2025, the region recorded 377 fire outbreaks, a marginal increase from the 373 cases recorded in 2024. The incidents resulted in an estimated property damage cost of GH¢159,081,662, more than double the GH¢68,217,224 recorded the previous year.
Despite the increase in fire outbreaks, the Service reported a significant improvement in property salvage, with items valued at over GH¢150.6 billion saved in 2025, compared to about GH¢1.02 billion in 2024. On average, one fire incident was recorded daily throughout the year.
The Command noted that two lives were lost through fire incidents in 2025. However, no fatalities were recorded from flooding, drowning, bee invasion, or height-related rescue operations. In the area of road traffic collisions, the Service recorded four incidents, resulting in one injury and two deaths, a reduction from 2024, which recorded five incidents, 20 injuries, and four deaths.
Out-before-arrival cases increased slightly to 145 in 2025, compared to 143 in 2024. January and December were identified as peak fire months, accounting for 17.2 per cent and 13.8 per cent of total incidents, respectively. Domestic fires accounted for the highest number of cases with 148 incidents, followed by commercial and electrical fires with 54 cases each, and bushfires with 14 incidents.
The Service also expressed concern about recurring fires in uncompleted buildings, particularly in newly developing settlements. In 2025, 17 such cases were recorded, representing 4.5 per cent of all fire incidents.
Major causes of fires were attributed to electrical faults from poor wiring and substandard cables, gas leakages, unattended cooking, lit candles, mosquito coils, bush burning, careless disposal of cigarette butts, unsafe welding practices, and deliberate acts.
The Command attributed the slight increase in fire outbreaks partly to harsh harmattan conditions at the beginning and end of the year, as well as non-compliance with basic fire safety measures, especially in homes.
While acknowledging the rise in incidents, the Service said the high number of out-before-arrival cases suggests that public education and sensitisation efforts are yielding results, as residents are increasingly able to control minor fire outbreaks before firefighters arrive.
The Northern Regional Command has therefore appealed to the public to desist from pranking emergency lines, including 191 and 112, to enable firefighters respond swiftly to real emergencies. Residents were also urged to observe basic safety practices in the use of naked flames, gas appliances, and electrical equipment.
As part of efforts to reduce fire outbreaks further, the Command announced plans to roll out a public sensitisation initiative dubbed “One Fire Officer, One School,” under which each officer will adopt a school to educate students and staff on fire prevention and safety by the end of the first quarter of the year.
The Service reiterated its commitment to working with the public to protect lives and property across the Northern Region.
