Firefighters had to rush to Kaimakli in Nicosia on Tuesday morning to extinguish a fire that broke out at an outbuilding.

After receiving several calls from concerned citizens who reported a dense smoke covering the area, the Fire Department dispatched two fire trucks to the scene.

The fire burned a vehicle and some dry grass, but no one was injured and the premises did not suffer any major damage.

The situation is currently under control. The causes of the fire are being investigated.

“Due to the increased temperatures in the past weeks, the risk of fires breaking out in Cyprus is currently relatively high,” Fire Service spokesperson Andreas Kettis told the Cyprus Mail.

“However, it all depends on human behaviour. Small precautions and attention to details from people go a long way when it comes to avoiding potential incidents,” he added.

On Monday, Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis inaugurated the “Fire Safety Week” in Cyprus and called on everyone to “work and cooperate with the same zeal as always to protect the country from the nightmare of fires.”

She expressed her hope that the human factor will not be the main cause of fires in the island this year.

“This week has now been established as the Fire Service’s annual fire safety education campaign, which aims to educate and raise public awareness about the risk of fires, both in urban areas and in the countryside.

“Respect for our environment and care for the protection of our nature is a matter of essential importance and a huge responsibility for all of us.”

Yiolitis also said that, throughout the last year, the government has been actively taken measures to improve the response time to fires and to better coordinate the actions of volunteer firefighters.

Moreover, she said that two new fire stations are about to be built in the villages of Pano Kivides and Pachna, with plans to build three more in Pissouri, Eptagonia and Pedoulas. An additional 26 firefighters have also recently joined the force.