The Ashanti Regional Deputy National Security Coordinator, Alhaji Alhasan Tapsoba, has warned Ghanaians that physically assaulting personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) will be treated as an attack on the state. Speaking to the media on December 1, 2025, Tapsoba said, “Any attack on a fire officer is an attack on the state,” and added that authorities will “arrest and prosecute anyone found guilty of manhandling fire service personnel” .¹ He highlighted recent incidents in which fire officers were attacked while responding to emergency calls, noting that such violence not only endangers the officers but also hampers rapid fire‑response efforts.
Tapsoba urged the public to cooperate with the GNFS in fire‑prevention initiatives, encouraging citizens to use certified electricians, avoid cooking in market centres and shops, and report any attacks on fire personnel to the GNFS hotline 192 or the police service at 191/18555 . He also commended the bravery of fire service workers and stressed that the law protects them, referencing Ghana’s constitutional provisions against violence toward emergency responders .
The warning follows a series of assaults on firefighters, including a February 2024 incident in Apraman where residents attacked a fire crew whose vehicle had broken down, and a May 2025 statement by a Western Regional Fire Commander that attacks on firefighters constitute a crime against humanity.
