PLANS TO REDUCE FISCAL COSTS FROM FIRES - AIM TO AVOID MAMMOTH COMPENSATION -Filenews 28/3 by Vassos Vassiliou
The significant budgetary cost of compensation for fire disasters led the Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, to submit a proposal to the Council of Ministers for preventive measures, the cost of which is estimated to be much lower than the disasters recorded.
In the proposal, which is submitted by the minister, it is stated that "the catastrophic consequences of fires, such as the one in mountainous Limassol in July 2025, in addition to the possible loss of human lives, entail significant fiscal costs for compensation and rehabilitation, which is many times higher than the cost of taking preventive measures. Therefore, it is imperative to take preventive measures, with the aim of responding immediately and containing the fire during the early stages of its occurrence."
Among the measures is the standby of machines at key points at a cost of €1.2 million. Specifically, for the purpose of covering the countryside, it is proposed to place tankers and chained vehicles at strategic points on alert with the lease and installation of 12 land forwarders and 8 tankers. These vehicles will be placed in 12 strategic locations in the districts of Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos which have been selected following a risk analysis and operational assessment to ensure immediate response in the event of a fire.
It is noted that in already existing predetermined points, the Department of Forests has placed its own vehicles covering only areas that are under its responsibility and has found that the existence of the vehicles in appropriate geographical locations has contributed to the faster and more effective extinguishing of fires.
The Minister of Interior will call on the Council of Ministers to act as follows:
>> To approve the concession of an amount of €1.96 million to the 30 Community Service Clusters, for the execution of the necessary cleaning works of the abandoned agricultural land and areas around the affected communities that are included in them (the clusters), for fire protection purposes and authorize the Minister of Finance to find and allocate the necessary appropriations.
>> To approve the concession of an amount of €1 million for the financing of the purchase by the Community Councils of single-cabin fire trucks, equipped with a fire pump/autonomous fire extinguishing system and authorize the Minister of Finance to find and allocate the necessary appropriations.
>> To approve the concession of an amount of €1.2 million for the lease and installation of land forwarders and tankers during the summer period from 01/06/2026 to 30/09/2026 and authorize the Minister of Finance to find and allocate the necessary credits.
In the context of the prevention and preparedness measures of the Republic of Cyprus for the effective response to agricultural and forest fires, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Interior on February 18 under the chairmanship of the Minister of Interior on the preparation for the fire season. The preventive measures discussed include, among others, the cleaning of abandoned agricultural land and areas around the communities for fire protection purposes. The cleaning or cultivation of abandoned agricultural land or other areas and/or necessary pruning, will cover a radius of 200 meters depth around the residential areas of the communities, with the ultimate goal of preventing possible fires and protecting these areas in particular.
Decisions of the Council of Ministers
It is noted that the Council of Ministers with the decision of the date. 16/4/2025, approved the concession of a total amount of €1 million. in the 16 Community Service Clusters in which paraforest-dwelling communities that are within the boundaries of the National Strategy for the Development of Mountain Communities (ESAOK) participate, for the execution of the necessary work for the cleaning of agricultural land in areas where the abandoned land has become dangerous for causing fire.
Furthermore, the Council of Ministers with the decision of the date. 3/9/2025, approved the concession of an amount of €2,070,710 to 23 Community Service Clusters, in order to carry out the necessary cleaning works of abandoned agricultural land and areas around the affected communities that are part of them, for fire protection purposes.
Based on data from the Ministry of Interior, the total cost that will arise for the execution of the works in the 30 Community Service Clusters will amount to €3,139,000.
Subsidy for the purchase of single-cabin fire trucks
It is noted that the Ministry of the Interior, taking into account the increasing needs for prevention and immediate intervention in cases of fires, decided from May 2025 to increase the subsidy rate of the cost of purchasing a single-cabin fire truck equipped with a fire pump/autonomous fire extinguishing system, from 50% to 80%, according to specific criteria.
Priority will be given to the acquisition of vehicles:
>> In communities that participate in a Community Services Cluster, where the total number of fire trucks of the communities of the Cluster in relation to the total number of communities of the Cluster is less than 50%.
>> In communities that participate in a Cluster of Services of Communities adjacent to a forest.
Finally, it is reported that since May 2025, when the new policy was implemented, the Ministry of the Interior has approved 32 additional requests from community councils for the subsidy of the cost of purchasing a single-cabin fire truck equipped with a fire pump/autonomous firefighting system, with the estimated sponsorship amounting to €1,280,000.
The funds for the implementation of preventive actions should come from the Ministry of the Interior.
