Most rural fire stations in Cyprus to switch to 24-hour operation

The forest fire that broke out in the evening of 24 June 2026 in the Malia — Dora area (Limassol district) once again exposed the acute problem of the lack of 24-hour fire protection in rural areas of Cyprus. Because the nearest specialized station had closed according to schedule, firefighting equipment had to be dispatched from a distant unit, which led to the loss of precious time and caused panic among local residents.

Reasons for the delay in extinguishing the fire in Malia — Dora:
Emergency services readiness for the summer season became the central topic of an emergency meeting of the parliamentary committee on internal affairs held on 25 June. During the inquiry, it was established that:
— Closed doors. The fire started at night, when most regional stations were already empty. The nearest base in Pachna had finished work at 19:00.
— A long haul. The Fire Service Crisis Management Center was involved in coordinating the response. The first crew to arrive at the scene was from Moniatis, which took significantly longer to cover the mountainous route.

The essence of the systemic problem (a gap since 1994):
The issue of the vulnerability of rural areas at night has been unsuccessfully discussed at the state level for more than 30 years. The standard working hours of most provincial stations are set from 08:00 to 19:00.
Head of the Cyprus Fire Service Nikos Longinos explained: «If a fire breaks out after seven in the evening, a vehicle from a backup base needs an average of about 30 minutes just to get there. In conditions of summer drought and wind, that is enough for a local blaze to turn into a major disaster». Longinos added that the department has been actively trying to reverse this inertia for the past two and a half years.

Emergency measures and reform from 1 July 2026:
As a first step to eliminate dangerous time «gaps», the government approved moving five strategically important rural stations, which more often than others deal with incidents, to 24-hour operation. From 1 July 2026, round-the-clock duty will begin at the following facilities:
1. Pachna (Limassol district) — by October 2026, a new modern station building is also expected to be completed here.
2. Kelokedara (Paphos district).
3. Peristerona (Nicosia district).
4. Xylofagou (Famagusta district).
5. Lefkara (Larnaca district).

In addition, the Fire Service leadership sent a comprehensive study-request to the Ministry of Justice demanding that absolutely all rural stations on the island be made round-the-clock and that 14 new response points be built.

Memory of the 2025 disaster and statistics:
The current nighttime incident caused a strong public reaction, as it reminded residents of the tragedy that occurred exactly a year ago. On 23 July 2025, a major fire in the Pachna area destroyed a record 124 square km of territory, ruined hundreds of homes and claimed the lives of an elderly couple trapped by the flames on the Monagri — Alassa road.

During the meeting, Deputy Interior Minister Elikkos Ilias said that since the beginning of 2026, around 13 million euros in compensation has been paid in total to families affected by last year’s disaster. The official stressed that the situation remains critical: since the start of this year, around 1,250 fires outside settlements have already been recorded in Cyprus.