Filenews 5 August 2025 - by Angelos Nicolaou
July 23, 2025, the day the big fire broke out in the Malia area, was recorded as a day of extremely high fire risk, with the Department of Forests having put in place a "Red Alert" from the previous day.
The meteorological conditions in the Malia region were dramatic: temperature at 40 degrees Celsius, relative humidity of only 20% and winds of intensity 5-6 Beaufort with gusts of up to 8 Beaufort, conditions that favour the rapid spread of the fire and make the work of ground and aerial firefighting equipment extremely difficult.
In the report submitted by the Department of Forestry to the President of the Republic on the devastating fire in the Limassol district, it underlines that following the protocols provided for red alert days, it was in full operational readiness. It had already stopped all forestry work and training, while emergency patrols, fire trucks and land promoters were mobilized. The Director of the Department, Savvas Ezekiel, moved from the Head Office to the Kakomallis Forest Station at 12:00 of the same day, due to the adverse conditions in the southern fairways of Troodos. At 16:30 the ICT departed from the Station for Malia.
The first announcement of the fire was recorded at 13:34 by a citizen via line 1407. Within a few minutes, there was a mobilization by both the Fire Service and the TD. Although the point of the event did not belong to the area of responsibility of the Fire Department, there was direct cooperation with the Chief Fire Officer, while the Fire Department, while the Fire Department, took over the northeastern front of the fire with the aim of protecting communities such as Arsos, Omodos, Koilani, Kouka, Sylikos, Doros, Monagri, Alassa and Agios Georgios Sylikou, as well as preventing expansion to the Troodos Forest.
At 14:15 the first communication took place between the Director of the Fire Department and the Chief Fire Officer, while at 14:18 and 14:59 the ICT contacted private operators of land promoters for immediate access to the fire. The first reinforcements arrived in the area shortly after 14:00. The first fire brigade departed at 13:53, before even a request was made by the Fire Brigade for the deployment of forces (13.58 the help was requested) and arrived at 14:07, while the second arrived at 14:35. Another 3 firefighters were found on the fire front at 14:42, 14:44 and 15:22, respectively.
The operators of earth thrusters arrived in the area at 15.30.
By the end of the day, the TD had sent a total of 20 fire trucks, 11 earth pushers and 4 tankers. A total of 127 members of the staff of the TD (29 forest employees, 73 forest firefighters and 25 machine operators – including private individuals) participated in the operation.
At the same time, the TD contributed on the same day to the extinguishing of three additional fires in Mathiatis (11 vehicles and 43 people), Anagia (6 firefighters and 20 people) and Agia Marinouda (2 firefighters and 10 people), demonstrating a high level of preparedness and dispersion of forces.
According to the final report of the ICC, the fire in Malia spread at a speed of 8-10 km² per hour in the first 10 hours, revealing how critical it is to deal with such phenomena from the first moments. The RD responded promptly and effectively, however, significant weaknesses in the general management of fires in the countryside are highlighted, weaknesses that had already been identified after the devastating fires in Arakapas in 2021.
A single management system is proposed
The relevant study, which was completed in February 2025, recommends the adoption of a unified Fire Management System in the Countryside, with equipment reinforcement, legislative interventions and redistribution of forces. The phased implementation of the proposed model is expected to take at least five years. According to the Department of Forestry: "any hasty implementation will cause serious problems in the operational capacity and effectiveness of the services involved, with unforeseen consequences".
The report concludes on the urgent need to improve prevention measures, particularly with regard to the management of vegetation around communities with the aim of protecting communities from fires and making better use of volunteers. It is emphasized that the unregulated involvement of untrained volunteers in emergency incidents can have devastating consequences.
