President Nikos Christodoulides has approved a €28,513,593 investment in a new fire surveillance system as Cyprus prepares for what authorities describe as one of the most critical fire seasons in recent years.
Christodoulides chaired a meeting at which the full state of readiness of government services was reviewed. The second phase of the Holistic Fire Surveillance System, approved at the meeting, will be implemented over three years across 338,000 hectares of forest land under the effective control of the Republic, of which 26% is state forest. The Forest Department oversees fire protection across state forests and a two-kilometre buffer zone along their boundaries — an area accounting for 54% of the country’s free territory.
The system is built around five pillars: strategic planning, prevention, operational readiness, rapid suppression and environmental restoration. Its core objectives are to cut the time needed to detect smoke or heat sources, enable the automatic mobilisation of the nearest response units, and give all agencies involved a shared, real-time operational picture.
New equipment
Thirty-one automatic detection systems will place smart sensors and thermal imaging cameras across forest areas, high-risk industrial zones and critical state infrastructure, designed to detect fires within seconds of ignition.
Two tethered observation balloons will provide continuous wide-area visual coverage, alongside expanded and better-staffed drone units.
A second phase of the MANET communications network will fully integrate the information systems of the Forest Department, the Fire Service, the National Guard and Civil Defence, ensuring no data is lost through incompatible communications equipment.
Specialised command-and-control vehicles will be deployed directly to the field for on-site coordination, while advanced simulation software will forecast fire spread direction and speed based on terrain and meteorological data.
The investment also covers the modernisation of existing facilities and the procurement of new firefighting vehicles, telescopic platforms and specialist targeting equipment for the National Guard.
Next steps
A proposal has been drawn up following consultations between the departments involved and the Ministries of Agriculture, Defence, Interior and Justice. It is at its final stage and is expected to go to the Council of Ministers this month, once input from the Ministry of Finance has been incorporated.
The goal is swift approval of funding, procurement tenders and the job positions needed to begin implementation without delay.
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