Cyprus successfully avoids major fire so far

So far, Cyprus has been successful in protecting its forest this summer by mobilising increased forces to extinguish even the tiniest fire and raising awareness among the population, who either alert the required services or even take action themselves, according to the Department of Forests.

The Director of the Department of Forests (DoF) Savvas Ezekiel told CNA, that the Department has evaluated the situation so far and the conclusion is that “we are doing well”, stressing that citizens’ awareness and assistance in identifying and extinguishing fires is of key importance.

Ezekiel noted that the Department is in "full readiness with all the forces and means at its disposal" to deal with and extinguish any fire as soon as it breaks out.

He said that when they get notified for smoke, they immediately mobilize the maximum number of human resources and means.

He further noted that from the first moment a signal of smoke is received, firefighting aircrafts and helicopters are set on alert so that they can take off immediately, adding that the forest districts and stations that are close to the fire are all moving towards the point and not only with manpower, but also with tankers and earth movers.

"It seems that so far we are doing quite well and most of the fires do not have time to develop and are extinguished in the beginning and it is confirmed by the results we have had in the last two months," he said.

Asked if the investigation into the causes of the fires shows that they are accidental or the result of intent and malicious action, he said that every day we have fires being put out, some of which are intentional, but are dealt with before they develop.

"There are cases where some material has been thrown, which we have identified and the Police are looking into, fires resulting from mistakes and accidents," he explained.