Filenews 26 August 2024
Additional measures to deal with fires, the frequency of which causes concern, were announced a moment ago by the spokesman of the Fire Brigade, Andreas Kettis.
In his post he states that:
The Fire Brigade, following today's fires in mountainous Limassol and more specifically in the areas of the communities of Pachna, Anogyra, Avdimou and wider areas all over Cyprus, expresses its deep concerns.
Additional measures are therefore being taken:
1. Contact with the Police and intensification of patrols in cooperation with all competent State bodies and organized voluntary groups.
2. Air all-day patrols with laden aircraft.
3. Activation of the UAS team of the Fire Service and all-day patrols with drones available to the Service.
We urge the public to contribute to our overall effort and when and if they detect any human activity that may be assessed as suspicious to immediately inform both the Police and the Fire Service on the emergency line (112) or on the phones of any Police or Fire Station.
The Fire Service recalls the decision of the Council of Ministers to tighten both the extrajudicial penalties for lighting a fire and causing fires as well as the penalties for causing a fire in:
– Forest - to 12 years in prison and/or €100,000 fine.
– Rural - to 10 years in prison and/or €75,000 fine.
– Municipalities/Communities - to 8 years imprisonment and/or €50,000 fine.
We kindly ask that we all contribute to limit possible malicious and incendiary actions.
