Minister of Justice and Public Order, Anna Koukkides Prokopiou and the Chief Fire Officer of the Fire Service, Nikos Longinos, urged the public to be particularly careful, due to the prevailing weather conditions, for the risk of ignition and expansion of fires. They were speaking on Wednesday during an award ceremony for Chief Firefighter Andreas Tziakouris, at the Ministry of Justice, for his participation in the Marathon Des Sables race, which took place in the Moroccan Sahara. "We are going through a very difficult period due to the weather conditions that prevail and our plea to the public is to be very careful," the Minister said. She noted that most fires are started by human negligence or even malicious acts as has been seen. She stressed that "we should be particularly careful because we cannot afford to either put the lives of firefighters at risk, because that is what happens every day when we call on them to put out fires, or put our country, our properties and our fellow human beings at risk, so be careful." On his part, Longinos said that the Fire Service in recent days has been responding to many fire incidents, adding that this is due to the human factor. "We want to send the message to our fellow citizens that they should be very, very careful," he said. He also said that people should be immediately aware of the results of their actions and should immediately inform 112 or 1407 of the Forestry Department about any fire incident. He added that climate change has created difficult conditions, explaining that temperatures have risen and the slightest spark can cause a fire. Regarding fireworks, Longinos said that the Fire Service has been responding to such incidents. "We should avoid the use of fireworks in places where they may cause a fire to start and spread to avoid adverse situations," he concluded.
Source: Cyprus News Agency