Longinos: 'I took on the responsibility to prevent more harm'

Chief Fire Officer, Nikos Longinos, stated during the joint session of the Parliamentary Committees on Agriculture, Interior, and Environment regarding the devastating fires in Limassol, that he assumed the responsibility for coordinating the actions during the fires.

Mr. Longinos emphasized that he was not the official coordinator, as stated by the Minister of Agriculture, Maria Panagiotou, and the Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Andreas Grigoriou.

'In no way could I violate the decision of the Council of Ministers and assume the duties of coordinator,' he said, explaining that he was responsible for coordinating the Fire Service and was called upon to coordinate the liaisons of the other services.

The statement provoked reactions from the Members of Parliament, who spoke of criminal responsibilities of the Minister and misinformation of the Parliament.

Earlier, the Minister had stated that the coordinator was the Chief Fire Officer, while the role of Andreas Grigoriou was not operational, according to the decision of the Council of Ministers.

Source: CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY