The two-day Hands-On Training Short-Course (HOT-1) took place on November 7 and 8, 2023 in Cyprus.
The project team of Imperial’s Hazelab (IMPERIAL) and European University Cyprus – CERIDES (EUC-CERIDES) team members visited the Catastrophy Response Special Unit (CRSU) Fire Station to set up four fire demonstration stations. This included an actual fire test using hay to simulate fuel vegetation, allowing the Fire Officers to observe and decide on their firefighting strategies for the following day. This session also provided hands-on training for EUC-CERIDES team member Dr. Klelia Petrou, applying the pre-discussed preparations for the fire demonstrations. The hay was covered with plastic to keep it dry and simulate the conditions of dry summer vegetation, which is typically prone to wildfires.
On November 8, the seminar hosted 30 participants from various stakeholder groups, including the Cyprus Fire Service, Forest Department, Civil Defence, Environmental Commissioner’s office, Defence Fire & Rescue Service from the British Bases on the island, and academics and researchers from the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence (CUT) and EUC-CERIDES. The training session included a lecture on fire science and its application to wildfires, followed by seminars on implementing fire science in wildfire models and laboratory fire testing for setting up the fire demonstrations.
The session concluded with outdoor fire demonstrations. The stations, set up the day before, were ignited by team members from EUC-CERIDES and IMPERIAL, with assistance from one of the guests. Participants were fully engaged, sharing their insights and experiences with real wildfires. The correlation between the lecture “Fire Science and its Application to Wildfires” and the fire demonstrations was highlighted by attendees. Notably, no firefighting intervention was required, as the fires extinguished themselves, a decision made by the Fire Brigade based on observations from the previous day’s testing.
The seminar was covered by local news media, emphasizing the importance of the training provided by SEMEDFIRE partners. This training is crucial for equipping local firefighters and other stakeholders with theoretical and practical knowledge on wildfire behavior, aiding in prevention and preparedness for increasingly severe summer wildfires.
The event was broadcast live on Alpha TV Cyprus (watch here) and a relevant article in Greek was published by the same media outlet’s news website. Kathimerini Cyprus published a relevant article titled “London’s Imperial College aids in wildfire management” in English. Both articles and the TV covereage highlighted the collaboration between IMPERIAL and EUC-CERIDES under SEMEDFIRE, focusing on the wildfire prevention training provided during HOT-1.
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