Residential fires, fatalities and injuries in Ghana: The need for targeted interventions

Residential fires represent the largest category of fatal fires in Ghana. Despite this, scholarly research dedicated specifically to residential fires in Ghana remains limited. Of the few studies that focused exclusively on residential fires in Ghana, none used the available residential fire investigation reports from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to systematically examine the causal factors, distribution patterns, and associated outcomes, namely fatalities and injuries across various neighbourhoods and housing types in Ghana. To address this research gap, this study accessed sixty (60) residential fire investigation reports obtained via the GNFS in the Ashanti Region, encompassing incidents involving fatalities and injuries from 2015 to 2023. The aim was to assess how residential fires, fatalities, and injuries are caused and distributed throughout different neighbourhoods and dwelling structures in Ghana, in order to develop targeted fire safety interventions and evidence-based policy recommendations. Findings suggest a disproportionate concentration of residential fires incidents, fatalities and injuries within informal/slum urban neighbourhoods, rural communities, and among residents of compound houses. Key contributing factors include the structural characteristics of dwellings, the use of combustible construction materials, occupancy patterns, and the choice of fuels used in cooking and lighting rooms. The study recommends that the GNFS should intensify public education campaigns, with a focus on changing people's attitudes and behaviours concerning the use of flammable building materials, use of hazardous sources of fuel, and illegal electricity connections to homes, particularly in poorer urban neighbourhoods, rural communities, and compound houses in Ghana.