Fire brigade responds to 54 incidents, majority linked to Easter bonfires

The fire brigade responded to 54 incidents in the past 24 hours up to 6am, including 42 fires and 12 special assistance calls, according to spokesman Andreas Kettis.

In a post on X, Kettis said that 37 of the 42 fires were linked to Easter bonfires (lambradjies).

Of these, 23 occurred in Nicosia district, six in Limassol, six in Larnaca and one in Paphos, while in one case the department’s special operations unit EMAK was called to assist.

He added that on the morning of Holy Saturday, after 6am, the service received further calls regarding fires in various locations, mainly involving waste materials in Nicosia and Larnaca districts.

These incidents are being recorded and handled, Kettis said, with the total number expected to be announced over the next 24 hours.

Kettis also reported that two fire engines responded at 1.22am to a blaze in an abandoned house in Limassol.

The fire started from rubbish inside the property and spread to the roof, part of which collapsed. Firefighters had to partially dismantle the remaining roof structure to fully extinguish the blaze.

According to Kettis, the fire was caused by rubbish being set alight inside the house by unknown persons.