Lemesos Community Leaders Give Harrowing Accounts of Recent Fire

In an emotionally charged session in Parliament, community leaders from the areas affected by the Lemesos mountain fire gave their testimonies. They spoke of delays in the response of services and made suggestions for improving crisis management.

The community leader of Malia, Marilena Athini, thanked the services, especially the Civil Defence, but noted a delay in the arrival of fire trucks. She stated that the fire started from the central road Malia-Arsos, refuting previous claims.

The community leader of Lofou, Yiannos Neophytou, a volunteer in the Civil Defence, described his efforts to coordinate the evacuation of the village and the children's camp. He said, "We almost got burned," describing the difficulties of accessing the village.

The community leader of Pano Kivides, Konstantinos Papatheodorou, referred to the difficult decisions he made to evacuate his village, while Matthaios Protopapas, President of the Vouni community council, stressed the difficulty of accessing the village due to the narrow roads.

The community leaders called for the implementation of government announcements and the reconsideration of the issue of compensation. They also referred to the need for better coordination and training of services, as well as strengthening local authorities with firefighting equipment.

A representative of the Alassa community council stated that the Ministry of Interior rejected a request for a grant to purchase a small fire truck, while the Mayor of Kourion, Pantelis Georgiou, spoke of a lack of coordination and shortcomings in the schools used to accommodate those affected.