Filenews 11 May 2021 -Michalis Hatzivasilis
Each year, the Fire Department receives a total of about 13,000 calls, of which 8,500 are for fires and 4,500 for humanitarian aid.
Of the total calls, about 5,000 thousand relate to fires in the countryside and another 3,500 relate to fires in urban areas. The main feature of these fires is that almost 93% are due to the human factor, such as negligence, recklessness, deliberate burning but also in several cases malicious and inflammatory actions.
That's what he said in a speech. Director of the Fire Department, Polis Hatzivassiliou, at the beginning of the fire safety week combined for the 20th year by the Fire Department and CNP Insurance. The Minister of Justice, Emily Yolitis, preaching the start of fire safety week with the slogan "Not to let our dreams turn to ashes", called on everyone to work to protect our country from the nightmare of fires, expressing the hope that the human factor will not be the main cause of fires in our country this year. Mrs Yolitis also referred to the forthcoming self-government of the Fire Department, pointing out that it creates new data and new perspectives for the Fire Department's body as it will undoubtedly give further impetus to the fulfilment of the Fire Department's mission and its strategic objectives. The minister said that "we are ready to start the construction of the two stations in Pachna and Kyvides, and the process of finding a piece for the construction of new stations in Pissouri, Eptadonia and Pedounas has begun".
The Chief of Police, Stelios Papatheodorou, in his own greeting pointed out that it is proven that the human factor is the main cause of fires. "By the error of a second, lives can be lost, land can become a fire fight, property can be turned into ashes, labours and toils of a lifetime to evaporate. Our preventive actions are inevitably directed towards informing young people, especially, with a view to awakening and changing attitudes."
