Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus’ Fire Brigade launched its 25th annual fire safety week on Monday, with Justice Minister Costas Fitiris calling for better coordination between services and greater public responsibility to prevent a repeat of the 2025 Limassol wildfires.
Fire safety week programme
The fire safety week is held under the slogan “Let’s Not Let Our Dreams Turn to Ashes” and includes lectures, training for civilians to recognise dangers, and public awareness activities.
Minister highlights coordination and shared responsibility
Fitiris said that in his 40 years of service, what stood out to officials visiting Cyprus was the speed with which services and departments came together when summoned, but added that coordination still needed improvement.
He said it was imperative to protect human life, property and the natural environment through timely planning, constant alertness and collective action.
Fitiris said that while speed of response and cooperation were decisive, effective fire prevention was not only the responsibility of the state and its services but of everyone, so the developments of the 2025 Limassol wildfire were not repeated.
Fire service chief cites incident figures and causes
Fire service chief Nicos Longinos said firefighters were called to tackle about 13,000 incidents each year, including 8,500 fires, mostly in rural areas.
He said more than 90 per cent of these fires were caused by human intervention.
Longinos said the climate crisis and technology were changing the operational scope of the service, adding that it was continuously upgrading equipment and training firefighters to respond effectively.
Public recognised for emergency response
During the event, members of the public Savvas Savva, Panayiotis Isidorou and Menelaos Christofides received honorary plaques for their response to fires and other emergencies.
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