The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has reported a relatively significant decline in prank calls during the first quarter of 2025.

GNFS said between January and March this year, they recorded 131,862 prank calls—down from 192,545 during the same period in 2024, representing 31.52% decrease.

This was announced in a statement by the Head of Public Relations, DOII Desmond E. Ackah.He attributes this to increased public sensitization and ongoing public education campaigns.

“Prank calls seriously undermine emergency response by wasting critical resources and delaying real interventions. Such acts pose significant risks to lives and property and are punishable under Ghanaian law,” the statement noted.

The GNFS has been actively using TV, radio, social media, schools, and community outreach to teach people about the serious risks and consequences of making fake emergency calls.

Acting Chief Fire Officer, Daniella Mawusi Ntow Sapong, has praised the public for helping reduce prank calls by taking the Service’s message seriously. She urged Ghanaians to stay alert and keep supporting the Fire Service’s work.

The Ghana National Fire Service also assured the public of its commitment to faster and better emergency responses.

They reminded everyone to report real fire emergencies by calling the toll-free numbers 192 or 112, or using the hotlines 0302772446 and 0299340383 for quick help.

It would be recalled that in 2024, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) recorded a total of 800,000 prank calls, averaging about 2,000 prank calls per day. These false emergency calls significantly disrupted operations, wasting valuable resources and delaying responses to genuine emergencies.

According to GNFS, many of these prank calls come from urban areas where access to mobile phones is easy adding that these calls hike mostly during vacations linking it to young people who possibly do not know the weight of their actions.

Some calls also come from public phone booths and unregistered SIM cards, making them hard to trace. To tackle the issue, GNFS is partnering with telecom companies to block repeat offenders and use call-tracing technology.