Fire prevention will be the focus of a meeting convened on Tuesday by Chief Fire Officer Nikos Logginos as the National Fire Coordinator.
In statements to CNA on Saturday, Spokesman of the Cyprus Fire Service Andreas Kettis, said that the meeting will take place at the Coordination Center of the Fire Service Headquarters, with the participation of all competent services.
Its purpose, he added, “is to decide on the emergency measures that we must take, based on meteorological data and the forecast based on which the coming days are considered difficult, due to the high temperatures and heat wave.”
The Fire Service, Kettis told CNA, is prepared to work hard to prevent a fire and to be ready for any event. He cautioned however that “every fire has a different dynamic and there are fires which overcome the response system and become very difficult to manage.”
‘The damage that a large fire can cause is very little, in terms of cost, when you do prevention,’ he pointed out.
Kettis said that in 2026 the Fire Service responded to 1,350 fires, of which more than 10% ‘could develop into very bad ones’.
He noted that a large percentage of fires are caused due to negligence and called on the public ‘not to underestimate any activity they do,’ such as, among others, throwing away cigarettes, intentional burning (such as clearing grass), outdoor work, hot tools and throwing away garbage, which is a source of ignition. He warned that some people even set fire to the garbage they throw away.
Unfortunately, he pointed out, current environmental conditions make it easy for a fire to start and spread.
Kettis said that some fires are not accidental but malicious acts.
He urged the public to provide information, monitor, observe and inform the competent authorities of suspicious movements.
Kettris warned that managing a fire is not an easy task at all and that the humidity of the flammable material and the atmosphere play a role, as well as quantity and type of flammable material, the soil and the winds.
The Spokesman of the Fire Service recalled that since June 2 this year, the Public Warning System – CY-Alert has also been put into operation.
The Civil Defence, he said, has created communication groups with heads of communities and members of the Community Councils to send group messages from the Coordination Center in case of emergency.
It has also provided 39 new wireless communication devices to high-risk communities for the purposes of uninterrupted communication.