A total of 60 personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the National Disaster Management Organisation ((NADMO) are undergoing a five- day training on Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) in Accra.

The training seeks to boost the participants' knowledge and skills in HAZMA, thus substances that could harm human health or environment.

The programme was organised by the GNFS in partnership with the North Dakota National Guard in USA.

Participants, comprising 55 GNFS and five NADMO personnel, were drawn from Accra and Tema.

Opening the ceremony, the Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Mr Julius Kuunour, said the training was timely, adding that the transportation of hazardous materials within Ghana and to its immediate neighbouring land-locked countries, such as Burkina-Faso and Mali, had become prevalent.

He said as Ghana embarked on an industrialisation drive, the GNFS must be prepared to deal with any emergency that might occur.

He recalled the Appiatse incident that occurred in the Western Region two years ago, which resulted in the destruction of a whole community due to the inappropriate handling and transportation of HAZMAT.

Mr Kunnuor said the team was in Ghana to undertake a similar programme, from which GNFS and Ghana as a whole had benefitted greatly to improve on the operational performance of the Service.

The CFO urged the participants to take the training serious, adding that they were trainers of trainees.

He thanked officials from the North Dakota National Guard for their partnership and called for more of such collaboration.

The Team leader of the North Dakota National Guard, Captain Jacob Sommerfeld, commended the GNFS for the partnership, stating that it would promote the safety of personnel and the citizenry.

He assured of their outfit's continuous support to help improve safety in the environment.

Some of the topics to be discussed during the training are HAZMAT transportation, early warnings, containment, blocking and bracing, site management and decontamination.