INCREASE IN FIRES BY 6.51% IN 2025 - DAMAGE OF €134.5 million RECORDED BY FIRE BRIGADE - Filenews 27/2
According to the data, the Fire Service responded during the year 2025 to a total of 13.401 calls for assistance, which concerned fires, special services and false calls.
Regarding fires, it is reported that the Fire Service responded to a total of 7,154 fires nationwide, of which 3,569 were rural fires and 3,585 were urban fires, with the total number of fires (urban and rural) showing an increase of 6.51%.
Regarding rural fires, it is noted that for 2025 there is an increase, with the total number reaching 3.569 and the percentage increasing by 8,81% compared to 2024, when the recorded number was 3280.
In particular, the Fire Service reports that Rural Fires in 2025 showed an increase of 8.81%, with the increase becoming particularly evident in the months of January (+30.26%), February (+33.88%) and March (+18.60%), mainly due to the drought that prevailed from the end of 2024 to the beginning of 2025, as well as due to faulty chimneys and fireplaces. In addition, a significant increase of 40.95% was recorded in April, due to the burning of 'lamps' and other waste items in the countryside during the Easter holidays.
Regarding fires during the summer months, it is reported that they result mainly from the habit of some farmers to burn fields (scorching) after harvesting, as well as from deliberate burning outside the legal period and without a permit. Nevertheless, there is a decrease in rural fires during the fire season (July-October), as a result of the prevention campaigns of the Fire Service, with public information through television and radio participations of the Press and Public Relations Office. In addition, the role of the patrols of the Fire Service, the Department of Forests, the Police and the Game Service, as well as other Organized Groups, was decisive, while the tightening of penalties for causing a fire also made a significant contribution.
Regarding the causes of outdoor fires, it is stated that they are mainly due to scorching, deliberate burning, burning garbage, disposing of cigarette butts, use of tools that cause sparks, preparation of food in unapproved areas or other human activities in the open air with the possibility of causing a fire. In addition, based on some arrests by the Police, testimonies, as well as the conditions of the place and time of the fires, it was found that part of them were malicious, especially in the districts of Limassol and Paphos.
"It is found for another year that a large percentage of 87.59% of the total number of rural fires for the year 2025, (3126 out of 3569), is due to lighting a fire without a permit, which is included in the category of "malicious act", while the contribution of the human factor in terms of causing fires in the countryside, with the percentage exceeding 94%", is emphasized in this regard.
Regarding urban fires, it is reported that an increase of 4,31% is recorded, as in 2025 there were 3,585 fires in urban areas, compared to 3,437 in 2024. The main areas of urban fire occurrence include plots, motor vehicles, private houses, apartments, apartment building parking lots, other premises, public roads, river beds, garbage cans and other places.
It is added that the main causes were electrical problems, failure of electrical appliances in homes or premises, electrical or mechanical problems in vehicles, cigarette butts, malicious acts and arson, defective chimneys and fireplace hearths, incorrect use of heating hobs and cooking appliances, negligent use of tools or appliances in workplaces, as well as lamps or burning of other useless items during the Easter holidays, with the human factor, as noted, playing an important role in causing fires, with a percentage of more than 95%
Special reference is made by the Fire Brigade to the burned area of the countryside, which for 2025 amounts to 133.46 sq.km, increased by 116,99 sq.km. compared to 2024 (16.47 sq.km), mainly due to the increase in the total number of rural fires compared to the previous year, while the catastrophic fire that broke out in July in mountainous Limassol, which burned about 120 sq.km of dry grass, wild vegetation, vines and trees, had a significant contribution to the increase in the burned area, as well as houses, premises, vehicles, machinery and stakes of the EAC and CYTA.
The financial aspect of losses also appears significantly increased for 2025. As recorded, roughly estimated by the Fire Service for in-service purposes, the damages for 2025 amount to €134,576,665, of which €14,018,680 were related to urban fires and €120,557,985 related to rural fires, it is then noted, while respectively, in 2024 there was a total amount of damage of €29,580,390, of which the amount of €26,702,420 concerned urban fires and the amount of €2,877,970 related to rural fires. The significant increase in the amount of damage is due to the extensive damage caused by the fire in mountainous Limassol in July, where crops, houses and other premises were damaged, in addition to the countryside, as well as vehicles, machinery and stakes of the EAC and the A.T.K.
The Fire Brigade also reports that the total number of people rescued, injured or killed due to fires amounted to 45 in 2025, compared to 61 in 2024, while the number of Special Services responses in 2025 showed a decrease of 1,09% compared to 2024.
In addition, the Fire Service in 2025 rescued 2,307 people after traffic collisions, technological or work accidents, as well as people trapped in faulty elevators or other areas, while cases of people rescued from tall buildings, cliffs, water surfaces and mountainous areas are also included.
Regarding false calls, it is reported that there is an increase of 34,2% for 2025, with their total number amounting to 988, increased by 252 compared to 2024, when 736 calls were recorded. The vast majority of them, at a rate of 97%, concern calls with a good cause, which proves the oversensitivity of the public to issues of prevention and early notification of suppression groups, it is added.
CNA
