Palaichori fire caused by short circuit at old water pump (Update 2)

A fire in Palaichori was caused by a short circuit at an abandoned water pump that was not meant to be receiving electricity, director of the Forestry Department Charalambos Alexandrou said on Monday, a day after the blaze.

“Electricity was coming to the point [water pump], and in that area there is a short circuit, and that point is the start of the fire. The conclusions are your own,” he said.

He added that the electricity authority was meant to cut the power to the water pump. Alexandrou said that the owners of the pump had requested the power be cut to it, after they abandoned it some time ago, however, it was still connected.

According to Forestry Department Director Charalambos Alexandrou, the electromechanical service and the police have been furthering the investigation into the cause of Sunday’s fire since early morning. Burnt out cables have been found at the site, authorities added.

Alexandrou said that from aerial photographs, these cables were burnt, and placed illegally, but they were not the cause of the fire, as per other aerial photos the forestry department has seen, which showed that the fire broke out in the area of the short-circuit at the abandoned water pump

The fire broke out at 2.24pm in the area of Palaichori and was brought under complete control at 5.20pm.

It burned 10 hectares of forest vegetation and threatened homes and properties.

The department said it took 130 people from their ranks to battle the blaze along with 20 fire engines, three vehicles from the game and wildlife service, three civil defence vehicles and three excavators. Volunteer firefighters also participated.

The Ikaros II plan was put into effect with a total of seven aircraft from the forestry department, the police and national guard backing up the ground crews.

Firefighting forces will remain in the area to deal with possible flare-ups.