THE Interior Ministry yesterday conceded that recent forest fires had exposed serious weaknesses in its emergency fire-fighting plans.
Speaking before the House Agricultural Committee, which convened to discuss the handling of emergency situations in the light of the recent fires, Interior Ministry Permanent Secretary Kyriacos Triantafyllides admitted state plans did have certain shortcomings.
He said emergency teams were operating according to plans drafted in 1996.
But Triantafyllides stressed that the scale of the blaze had been unprecedented.
The fires, which burned out of control for three days, destroyed 50km of pine, carob, and olive trees, along with orchards and shrub.
They were put under control with the help of Greek and Israeli fire-fighting aircraft.
Two helicopters from the British bases also contributed to the efforts.
Reinforcements from overseas arrived after an urgent plea from President Glafcos Clerides.
The government has come under fire from critics claiming the emergency units were slow to react and showed a worrying lack of co-ordination.
The government rejects the charges, saying it was the first time the emergency services had to face fires of such scale.
The issue was fiercely debated during the committee session yesterday, after the Chairman, Akel deputy Christos Mavrokordatos, claimed in his opening speech that President Clerides’ intervention to co-ordinate efforts highlighted the total lack of organisation and co-ordination.
Disy deputies Evangelos Samoutas and Stelios Yerasimou fiercely objected to the allegation, interrupting the session.
Once order had been restored, Triantafyllides said a committee had been appointed by the ministry to study ways of better handling of emergency situations.
The committee would be meeting today to study immediate measures, Triantafyllides said.
Representatives of the fire-service and the Forestry Department said their units operated according to plans, but noted there was no radio communication between the two services, while there were no access roads to the blaze despite the plethora of men and equipment.
