Filenews 27 May 2022
A large-scale field exercise, called "Hephaestus 2022", is underway from 11.00 in Kapedes, in the "Poularos" area.
In a statement, the Department of Forests of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment has said that the exercise takes place between the hours of 11:00 – 12:00, as part of the Forest Protection Week 2022.
The purpose of the exercise "Hephaestus 2022" is to evaluate the effectiveness of the entire forest firefighting system, which includes all the forces involved, both air and ground.
See photos from the exercise, shared on Social Media by the ETEA volunteer group, which is among the participants:
The Ambassador of Jordan to Cyprus, the Commissioner for the Environment, the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, as well as representatives of the United Nations, the British Bases, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, the Ministry of Defence, the Fire Brigade, the Police, the National Guard, the Civil Defence, the Game and Fauna Service, were present at the exercise. Of Civil Aviation, the District Administrations and Departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment.
According to the Department of Forests, the scenario of the exercise provides for the occurrence of a forest fire in the area of the Machairas National Forest Park, near the Community of Kapedes, which is raging uncontrollably and is developing into a "crisis".
He notes that the Special National Plan "Hephaestus" will be implemented, while forces from the Department of Forests, the Fire Brigade, the Police, the District Administration of Nicosia, the Game and Fauna Service, the Civil Defence, the National Guard, the Search and Rescue Coordination Center, the Ambulance Service, the Meteorology Department, the British Bases, are involved in extinguishing the fire, while in order to extinguish the fire, the Cyprus Institute, the ETEA volunteer group, as well as a team of the Bank of Cyprus SupportCY volunteer corps.
Also, the "IKAROS 2" Plan, which concerns the flight operations, will be implemented, with the involvement of all the aerial means available to the Republic of Cyprus, flying means from the British Bases.
The flying firefighting operations are also reinforced through Israel, while the national guard's coordinating helicopter will also include personnel from Jordan.
