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Claim: A Social media user, Twinsdntbeg Jnr., has disputed claims that the last time the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) received Fire Tenders was under the late John Atta Mills. He suggests the Akufo-Addo-led administration also donated fire tenders to the service.
Verdict: MISLEADING! The claim uses genuine images but misrepresents the equipment shown. What Bawumia commissioned for the GNFS were hydraulic platforms and a Rapid Intervention Vehicle, not fire tenders. The viral response, therefore, does not disprove the GNFS PRO’s claim about fire tenders.
Full Text
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) PRO, ADO 1 Alex King Nartey, has said that the Service has not received any fire tenders since the Atta-Mills administration.
This claim has circulated widely and attracted pushback from social media users, most notably from the account Twinsdntbeg Jnr., who shared photographic evidence of Vice President Bawumia handing over what he described as proof that the Akufo-Addo government did indeed provide equipment to the fire service.
DUBAWA Ghana examined the claim and the counterclaim.
Verification
The images cited by Twinsdntbeg Jnr. depict an event in December 2022, when Dr Bawumia commissioned two hydraulic platforms and a Rapid Intervention Vehicle (RIV) for operational use of the Ghana National Fire Service.
A hydraulic platform is not a fire tender. According to Safeopedia, an occupational health and safety reference platform is a type of large appliance attached to some fire trucks, comprising a crane with a caged platform at the end, used to rescue those trapped at significant heights, and often including fire hose reel attachments that allow water to be directed at fires from height.
According to Jon’s Mid America, a US-based fire apparatus supplier and industry resource, a fire tender is a water-carrying vehicle designed primarily to transport and pump water at a fire scene.
On the Rapid Intervention Vehicle: an RIV does carry water and can suppress fires, but it is by design a first-attack unit, not a substitute for a fire tender.
According to Fire Rescue Truck, an international fire apparatus industry publication, Rapid Intervention Vehicles are smaller, faster units used to reach an incident before major tenders arrive, and play a vital role in providing immediate suppression during the early stages of a fire.
ABO DEMAN, a certified RIV manufacturer, further clarifies that RIVs are used for the initial attack and effective suppression of small fires before the arrival of main forces, with tank capacities typically ranging from 350 to 600 litres, a fraction of the water-carrying capacity of a standard fire tender. The two serve related but distinct purposes in firefighting operations.
It is worth noting that the Akufo-Addo administration did make other investments in the GNFS during its tenure. Vice President Bawumia, speaking at the commissioning of a fire training school in 2024, cited equipment provided to the Service, including command vehicles, modern fire engines, drones, rapid intervention vehicles, buses, personal protective equipment, and rescue and firefighting equipment.
Conclusion
The counterclaim by Twinsdntbeg Jnr. is misleading. The images shared show hydraulic platforms being handed over to the GNFS — a category of aerial rescue apparatus that is distinct from fire tenders. Using those images to rebut the GNFS PRO’s specific claim about fire tenders conflates two different classes of equipment.
