ATF fire investigation ‘will be useful in planning next stages’

The results of the investigation carried out by the United States’ Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) into the cause of and the circumstances surrounding the wildfire which tore through the Limassol district and killed two people last month “will be useful in planning the next stages”, according to reports on Friday.

The Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported that the ATF team, which began its fieldwork near the Limassol district village of Malia, where the fire broke out, on Thursday, will “provide assistance and expertise” to ensure that should wildfires break out in the future, the various arms of the government involved will be better prepared to coordinate a joint response.

In addition, it said, the ATF team will “examine the management of the fire and the actions taken to deal with it”.

It said the group consists of specialised arson and accident investigators, and that it has been tasked with investigating the causes of the fire and the conditions which led to it rapidly spreading.

The group is also set to meet President Nikos Christodoulides before they leave the island, with CNA saying they will “inform [him] about their findings”. An analytical report is then set to follow in the coming weeks.

Once that report has been submitted, CNA said, the ATF team’s work will enter a “second phase”, in which they will assist the Cypriot authorities in “acquiring know-how regarding the investigation of incidents of this nature”.

It added that there will “probably be training of Cypriot first responders” with this goal in mind.

The ATF team began work in Malia on Thursday and were joined on the scene by members of the fire brigade and the police.

There, the team’s supervisor Brian Lovin said it is his team’s intention is to work “as efficiently as possible” to give the answers to questions the government has asked regarding the fire.

“Our primary goal here is to work with the law enforcement and fire brigade officials here to determine the origin and cause of this particular fire,” he said.

The team is expected to remain in Cyprus for a total of 10 days, having arrived on Thursday.