Fire upgrade committee given 15 days to submit their priorities

The president has ordered that the recommendations of the fire services for their upgrade be prioritised within 15 days, as the state seeks to bolster the force.

A committee on Wednesday was briefed on a study carried out by the fire services which identified gaps in its capacity to battle future blazes.

As such, President Nicos Anastasiades ordered the committee to list the urgent priorities identified in the report within 15 days.

The president has praised previous efforts to upgrade the fire service, most recently in November. He said that there were six firefighting aircraft available in 2016 and that this has risen to 11, with two more set to be purchased.

According to Anastasiades, the network of fire stations in urban and rural areas has expanded with the construction of new infrastructure and upgrade of the existing ones.