Filenews 16 November 2021 - by Dora Christodoulou
Not one, not two, not three, but a total of 13 fires were called to be managed by the Fire Brigade in the last 48 hours in the District of Paphos. Twelve on Sunday and one yesterday. And yet, during the most difficult and busy period for the firefighting forces, the main "weapons" for fighting the fires were sitting inactive at their base at Paphos airport.
The absence of the two Russian Kamov-32 firefighting helicopters, that for years the Republic has been leasing for the summer seasons to be the "flagship" of the effort to protect against fires, was noticed by many citizens who saw in the sky coming and going only the small planes of the Department of Forests, expressing questions about this fact.
Information provided by 'F' from competent sources indicates that the explanation for this absence lies in financial disputes between the contracting parties. In particular, the owner company of the helicopters considers that no financial obligations have been fulfilled by the Republic, while on the contrary, Cyprus considers that the agreements are being complied with and that it was the obligation of the crews of the two helicopters to respond to the calls for the reason for their time on the island. This controversy has effectively left Cyprus uncovered by the two Kamov fire brigade force for almost a week, as helicopters have been grounded since the middle of last week. This absence was not particularly evident due to the reduced activity on the subject of fires, but it was noticed by everyone on Sunday, when Paphos recorded a record number of fire outbreaks in one day. This situation is made, according to the same sources, even more complicated given that the lease contract for helicopters and their crews formally expired yesterday. The competent services of the Republic, the said source revealed, have already contacted the General Prosecutor's Office asking for an opinion on their subsequent actions and actions. In the absence of the two Kamov 32s, the small planes of the Department of Forests were called on Sunday and yesterday to bear the burden of a disproportionately large number of fire operations in the Pafos district with a total of 12 fiery fronts breaking out one after the other. Another fire broke out yesterday morning in an area north of Paphos airport which was extinguished in a relatively short period of time. According to a press release by the Cyprus Fire Brigade, five of these fires remained throughout the night of Sunday attended by forces from the Fire Brigade, the Department of Forests and the Game Fund.
In detail, in Koili and Akourso, the fiery front burned five hectares of dry grass and wild vegetation, in Polemi two hectares, in Psathi and Agios Dimitrianos eight hectares, in Amargeti and Lemona also eight hectares, while in the location Marathovounos, between Kathikas and Strombi, a square kilometre was destroyed.
In Choletria, Nata, Agia Varvara, Giolou and Kelokedara, the fires burned smaller areas.
As stated in the announcement, all fires occurred in areas with "zero accessibility for ground forces". Firefighting forces from Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca and EMAK responded, as well as forces of the Police, the Department of Forests with ground and air forces of four aircraft, the District Administration of Pafos, the local authorities, as well as the British Bases with two firefighting helicopters.
The causes of the fires are being investigated, with security officials and local authorities predicting that the vast majority of the fires were malicious and the result of deliberate actions.
