National response plan aims to coordinate response to emergencies

“This incident rattled us,” Justice Minister Costas Fitiris said on Monday unveiling a national rapid response plan to improve coordination between emergency services and prevent a repeat of the seven-hour closure of the Nicosia-Limassol motorway seen last week. Speaking after a meeting with all the services involved, Fitiris said the government had completed a full review of the response to the accident and prepared a draft plan setting out the responsibilities and actions of each agency. The meeting brought together representatives of the police, fire service, Civil Defence, ambulance service, Public Works Department and other authorities whose involvement may be required during a serious incident. “All these services must work together and respond in the shortest possible time,” Fitiris said. The minister said the plan was intended to improve coordination between authorities and prevent a repeat of the prolonged disruption experienced after a lorry overturned and blocked the motorway. “This incident, to put it simply, rattled us,” he said, adding that the government had moved immediately to prepare the new framework. Under the plan, there will be a clearly defined chain of command, setting out which authority will coordinate the response, what actions each service must take and how information will be communicated to the public. Fitiris said the police would have overall responsibility for coordination, although the response would involve several other agencies depending on the nature of the incident. The plan will also determine which authority issues public warnings and how existing systems, including CY-Alert, will be used to notify drivers and residents at an early stage. The aim, he said, was to prevent vehicles from continuing towards the scene of an incident and becoming trapped in congestion, while directing motorists towards alternative routes. The minister said the framework would not apply only to highway accidents but to any serious incident requiring the involvement of several services. He cited as an example an emergency in which an area had to be evacuated while another incident was taking place nearby, requiring a fast and coordinated response. Special response teams will be established in every district to implement the plan. Asked by the Cyprus Mail whether the plan would require additional funding, Fitiris said the government would initially make use of existing resources, including CY-Alert and announcements through the media, which would not create significant additional costs. Any expenditure would mainly relate to additional equipment and agreements with private companies for services that cannot be provided by government departments. He said contracts could, for example, be signed with private companies in each district to provide cranes capable of removing overturned lorries or other heavy vehicles. Such contracts would specify that the company must respond immediately, with the cost calculated on an hourly basis. Asked by the Cyprus Mail whether the plan would include measurable response times, Fitiris said targets would form part of the framework. “If there are no measurable response times, it will not be a plan,” he said. He rejected suggestions that responsibility for the seven-hour closure rested solely with the police, saying the force had responded but did not have the equipment or authority to remove the lorry or clear the road. “The police can respond to an accident, but only up to a point,” he said. The minister said different services were responsible for investigating the accident, clearing the road, cutting safety barriers if necessary and issuing public warnings. “What we have done after this incident is bring all these services together and prepare a single plan, so that they can coordinate in the shortest possible time,” he said. Fitiris described the highway accident as unprecedented, as the overturned lorry and its spilled load had blocked all lanes rather than a single one. However, he said the incident had shown that the authorities must be prepared even for unusual or previously unforeseen situations. The draft plan will now be reviewed by the services involved before being finalised and put into effect.