The FireWatch AI system, which detects smoke, analyzes it, calculates coordinates, and informs the company’s control center, which in turn notifies the Fire Department with relevant photos and data, has been installed in Pano Platres by Firewatch, a company based in Paralimni. As stated to “Entrepreneurial Limassol” by the President of the Pano Platres Community Council, Mr. Dimitris Papatheodotou, the system consists of two towers:
“There is a tower at a high point of the community, equipped with cameras covering 360 degrees, which are connected to another tower where the system that serves as the base has been installed. When a fire breaks out and smoke is detected, it is processed and analyzed through artificial intelligence and, once confirmed to be a fire, the competent authorities are notified.”
The community leader added that the system can also estimate, even if the Fire Department or the Forestry Department does not immediately arrive on site, how long it will take for the fire to reach a distance of two to three kilometers. He stressed that this is an excellent system, currently available in only a few countries, and that the first systems installed by the company in Pano Platres and other areas were provided entirely free of charge.
“In our community we have the cameras, the base, the installation runs on a solar system, is autonomous, and has on-the-spot internet access. However, I believe that for it to perform properly, it must also be installed in other communities of Troodos, so that smoke can be detected from everywhere,” said Mr. Papatheodotou. He emphasized the need to create a comprehensive network of systems in communities, so that it can operate effectively on a nationwide basis.
The President of the Pano Platres Community Council noted that for his community, FireWatch AI is extremely useful, since Platres is perhaps “the most dangerous area in Cyprus,” as it hosts hotels, three camping sites, organized apartments, and 950 houses scattered throughout the forest. He also stressed that the system has been installed, operates flawlessly, and will provide immediate alerts to community stakeholders via mobile phones in the event of any fire.
Referring to the large developments in Platres, the community leader said that their owners approached the Community Council to help with the serious problem and risk of fires. He added that the community already has a fire truck, donated by the British Bases, and that they asked investors for another fire truck, 50 fire hydrants, and two generators for the Services. The companies responded positively and will provide the community with this equipment at a cost exceeding €250,000.
On the issue of the Fire Station, Mr. Papatheodotou recalled that after the major fire in Pelendri village, “for political reasons,” the authorities decided to close the Platres station and move it to Saittas, where state-owned land was available. “The fire in Pelendri happened, it burned what it burned, and afterwards we created three stations there, in Saittas, Pelendri, and Agros and we abandoned Platres, the most dangerous place — I repeat — in Cyprus, where three camps for children operate, six hotels with four more planned, as well as 950 houses within the forest. They decided that a Fire Station, or at least a fire truck stationed in Platres, was not necessary. While in all the meetings they tell us that in the first five minutes, when a house is burning, the fire truck must already be outside it. To get a vehicle from Saittas to Platres takes 25 minutes.”
The community leader concluded by stressing that, since the authorities consider Platres the most dangerous area in Cyprus, the appropriate conditions must be created for people to feel safe, including the operation of a Fire Station. “Until then, Platres will have two fire trucks, provided free of charge and manned by Community Council employees — former temporary firefighters with the necessary training,” concluded Mr. Dimitris Papatheodotou.
