Firefighters to remain in area of Koilani blaze

The fire that broke out near the village of Koilani, in the Limassol district, was under control on Friday, but aerial firefighters remain on standby in case of flare-ups.

Speaking on CyBC radio, community leader Kyriacos Kyriacou expressed his conviction that the fire was an act of arson, stating that fires broke out in two places about a kilometre apart, within a short time frame.

Investigations are underway to identify the perpetrator(s) with Agriculture Minister Petros Xenofontos vowing that they would be brought to justice. Efforts are focused on determining whether the arsonist(s) are in any way linked to previous fires set in Limassol district.

In the course of Thursday’s firefighting efforts, which took place in a hard-to-access area, a forestry department fire engine became trapped by the fires at one location, the flames engulfing the vehicle’s rear.

In a bid to escape, the driver accidentally veered into a 20m deep ravine and the vehicle overturned, with the personnel inside. One of the crew sustained light injuries.

Another two fire fighters were reported has having been lightly injured in the course of operations.

The fire which at one point threatened to expand toward the Troodos forest burned one-and-a-half square km of scrublands and some cultivated areas by the time firefighters had it under control.

A total of eight firefighting planes and 12 fire engines were deployed, while the Civil Defence unit also sent three mobile fighting units, and the Forestry Department fire engines.

Eight residences in the vicinity were evacuated as a precaution.