More calls for Paphos fire service

FIRE-fighters in Paphos responded to more than 2,000 calls to put out fires and rescue people last year, according to the district’s fire chief Spyros Papamichael. But despite the total number being fewer than in 2012, the actual number of calls for fires had risen.

Of the total 2,121 calls, 1783 were for fires in residential and farming areas.
According to Papamichael, 34 calls were hoaxes, while 304 calls were for special services such as rescuing people trapped in elevators. Fire-fighters were also called to rescue people and animals fallen in ditches, people trapped in vehicles after accidents, pumping water from buildings after heavy rainfall and flooding, opening drains and cutting trees that blocked traffic on public roads.

Some of the calls included fires which had started in kitchens after electrical devices or other appliances had been left unattended, from faulty heaters or fireplaces with faulty flues.

Papamichael said that in 2012 fire-fighters were called to respond to a total of 1669 fires of which 1187 were in residential and farming areas. The same year, the fire service received 218 hoax calls and 434 calls for special services.

Papamichael added that the Paphos fire service responded to the best of its abilities to prevent and suppress fires by hiring seasonal workers for six months during summer.

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