FIRE FIGHTERS who were first to arrive on the scene of the July 11 Mari blast and were subsequently killed by it were sent in without knowing they were dealing with explosives, the father of one of them told an inquiry yesterday, blaming the service’s leadership for the deaths.
Michalis Theofilou, a senior officer in the fire service himself, said the chief of the service, the deputy chief and the head of a special rescue unit EMAK knew of the risks posed by the 98 containers filled with munitions that exploded but failed to inform anyone prior to the incident at the Evangelos Florakis naval base.
Theofilou’s son Panayiotis was among six fire fighters belonging to EMAK who died in the blast, along with seven sailors.
They were scrambled to the scene after they were notified of a fire at the naval base.
He said deputy chief of the fire service Charalambos Charalambous and EMAK chief Andreas Loizides had taken part in a inspection of the cargo five days before the blast and had seen the container that bulged due to its contents self-igniting.
Theofilou, who has been in the service for 31 years – 14 of which as an officer, said under the circumstances – according to the emergency response manual – everyone within a 1.6 kilometre radius should have been evacuated, which would have at least prevented the deaths of 13 people.
“Do not try to put out the fire when it reaches the cargo. Evacuate the area and let the fire develop,” said Theofilou, quoting from the manual.
“The fire trucks were at a distance of 50 metres from the stack… something unacceptable,” Theofilou said, of the positions the engines were found in after the blast.
Despite his obvious grief, Theofilou delivered a detailed, coherent testimony, presenting the inquiry with manuals and other documents to back his charge that rules had not been followed by the leadership in dealing with the incident.
“In the next few years this incident will be taught in fire service academies as an example to avoid,” he said.
He said Charalambous and Loizides left the base after the inspection and went to the EMAK HQ at Kofinou.
The naval base at Mari falls under the jurisdiction of the Kofinou station.
“They did not tell anyone anything and then went home,” he said.
Theofilou said Charalambous briefed fire service chief Andreas Nicolaou “who didn’t do anything. Neither did he brief immediate superiors”, meaning the chief of police and justice minister.
Nicolaou left Cyprus for a scheduled holiday on July 8 and was replaced by Charalambous.
Theofilou said Charalambous and Loizides had been repeatedly contacted by sergeant Andreas Papadopoulos – who died in the blast – but again they did not do what they should have.
“Even at the last moment they did not act correctly, because the scene and the positions of the vehicles show that they had not been given the instruction to evacuate,” Theofilou said.
Theofilou, who was applauded by relatives of those killed as he finished his testimony, was followed, after a short break, by fire chief Nicolaou who, along with the other two officers, has been suspended pending the investigation.
Reading from a prepared statement, Nicolaou said his officers had been assured at a July 6 meeting that the gunpowder in the containers “ignites but does not explode”.
He said it had been agreed to remove the bulging container from the stack to check but the fire service had not been asked to take any action.
“No one spoke of a possibility of explosion,” Nicolaou said. “Charalambous did not convey the message properly on the risks and the possibility of explosion. We did not have the full picture.”
Asked if he thought the service should have been concerned, Nicolaou said “we don’t have any knowledge on explosives”.
But according to Theofilou, Charalambous had received training on explosives in the USA and he was also the person responsible for health and safety in the fire service.
Nicolaou said that based on statements at the July 6 meeting he “did not get the impression that material would explode or there was a risk of explosion.”
The embattled officer appeared to be under great stress during his testimony, offering choppy and sometimes evasive responses.
