Cyprus has recorded a rise in outdoor fires over the past week, with signs pointing to malicious acts, Fire Service Chief and General Fire Coordinator Nikos Longinos said on Monday.
Longinos said the total number of outdoor fires recorded since the start of the year has topped 1,450.
“Unfortunately, it seems that more than 90% of all fires are caused by human factors. In recent days, though, it looks like fires are breaking out due to malicious acts. We’re finding four or five fire outbreaks within 500 metres of each other, and other cases too, reported to us by members of the public who give us information. We want to thank them, and police are investigating these incidents,” he added.
From there, Longinos continued, a fire broke out at around 3:50am today in Prasteio Kellakiou. It was a difficult fire, and the response mechanism was activated immediately: the Forestry Department, the Fire Service, Civil Defence, police and the Air Fire-Fighting Squadron. “We needed to catch the fire before it developed further, given the time it broke out made things difficult,” he said.
Fortunately, Longinos said, there was no strong wind.
He repeated that the mechanism had been activated, with fire crews, and that they managed, in the early morning hours, with the help of aircraft that were able to fly, to bring the fire under control.
At the same time, he said, the CY Alert system was used.
“We had informed the communities near the fire that they might need to evacuate, and once we confirmed the fire was fully under control, the message was sent that the alert for those communities had ended. From there, it appears the fire started, at first glance, from a bin where people throw rubbish. It looks like some of our fellow citizens had thrown coals into it, along with other rubbish that was in the bin, and the fire started and then spread into the countryside,” he said.
Responding to a related question, Longinos also said Cyprus needs to be extremely careful, adding that temperatures have risen significantly.
“Fires happen every day for various reasons. As I’ve said, most of the time they’re malicious or the result of human negligence. So we need to stay constantly alert and on standby to deal with any incident,” he added.
Asked whether the patrol and drone measures are continuing, Longinos confirmed that patrols are ongoing.
“Yesterday, patrols spotted a fire case up in the hills, essentially the Moniatis patrol. We’ve given instructions. Drones are flying, aircraft are flying loaded continuously for many of the fires, and while patrols are out we send them directly to respond so we can catch fires in their early stages. That’s the mechanism, that’s how it works. I want to believe there won’t be any incident that develops at a time when there’s strong wind, because you understand that would make things much harder,” he concluded.
Read more:
