THE FIRE Services yesterday denied that they could have done a better job in combating Wednesday’s massive blaze in the Larnaca and Limassol area.
In the aftermath of the catastrophic fire, local residents blamed the Fire Services for not being organised and lacking the expertise needed to combat such a major blaze.
Head of the Fire Services Andreas Nicolaou retorted yesterday by saying that people should take into account the complexity of the situation due to the conditions.
“There was a very good response and co-ordination from the services involved. Due to the state of the land and the intensity of the wind, this meant that while we thought that the fire was under control, all of a sudden another fire about 50-100 metres away had ignited. By the time we had managed to divert our attention to that spot, the fire had already spread,” he said.
“We started using the fire-fighting aeroplanes and helicopters as soon as we could, but by then the fire had spread to other areas and many fronts,” he added.
On Thursday, DISY party deputy leader Averof Neophytou criticised the lack of fire-fighting resources available to the authorities by saying that “we should not be expected to fight these major fires with water-pistols”.
The government had called on foreign aid from Greece, Lebanon and Israel in order to fight the raging inferno that burnt down 14 square kilometres of brush land, olive tree cultivations, pine trees as well as a small number of homes, most of them holiday homes, and abandoned warehouses.
The Greek authorities sent two fire-fighting aeroplanes to assist the fire-fighting effort, while Israel and Lebanon said they were not in a position to assist.
According to Thursday’s reports, arsonists were to blame for the fire as the initial reports of the blame being a result of a re-ignition of a previous fire in the area were dismissed.
Nicolaou said that the main reason pointing towards an arson attack was the fact that the fire broke out at 3am, something “that is causing a great deal of suspicion”.
Justice Minister Kypros Chrysostomides admitted that he was extremely concerned if the reports of an arson attack were verified by the ongoing investigation that being conducted by the Fire Service.
“We are obviously very worried about this, especially at a time when the conditions are as they are,” he said.
The Fire Services remained on standby on Thursday and most of yesterday in the area to protect against any possible resurgence of the fire that affected the villages of Ora, Akapnou, Vasa, Kelaki, Sanida and Klonari.
Wednesday’s fire affected a greater area than last summer’s devastating blaze that burnt down some 12 square kilometres of the Saittas forest and with it a number of residences.
