Police suspect arson in new Paphos fires

FIREFIGHTERS were battling four separate blazes in Paphos last night with two still not under control going on midnight. 

The fires started at around 6.30pm. The fire services managed to bring two under control by 10pm but a further two – considered dangerous – had were still burning. 

One fire in Kissonerga had eaten up over 10 hectares of land and almost licked the nearby army camp getting as close as 150 metres before Fire Services managed to control it.

It engaged over ten fire engines. 

A fire in Kathikas devoured over 30 hectares of dry vegetation and engaged 13 vehicles including one excavator. Three helicopters were also assisting fire services. 

All of the blazes are suspected arson: “It’s very unlikely that four different blazes would have broken out at the same time at four different locations,” a police officer told the Cyprus Mail. 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.