The number of professional firefighters in Cyprus reached 1,200 in 2025, representing 0.24% of total employment in the country, according to data published Monday by Eurostat.
Cyprus’s percentage was higher than the European Union average, where professional firefighters accounted for 0.18% of total employment.
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Commenting on these figures on the “Alpha Summer” show, Fire Service Chief Fire Officer Nikos Logginos said that, indeed, we have 1,200 people in the Fire Department; however, “of that number, only 80% (961 people) are full-time professionals. The remaining 20% (237 people) are regular hourly-wage staff (firefighters).”
Elaborating further, Mr. Logginos said that “full-time professionals are those who have passed exams, attended the Academy for three years, and completed the certified training program. Non-professionals are firefighting laborers—that is, they did not graduate from the Academy, did not pass exams, and are currently undergoing training.”
They, he added, “are usually deployed to rural fires, and if they are assigned to other duties, they will always be under the supervision of a professional firefighter.”
Moreover, aside from fires, Fire Department members have a wide range of other responsibilities, such as rescue operations, extrication in accidents, falls into wells, chemical incidents, and more.
It is worth noting that of the 961 professional firefighters who make up the Fire Department, “105 are stationed at Larnaca and Paphos airports and carry out airport security duties in case of any emergency. They are paid by ‘Hermes.’” Consequently, he continued, “the number of available professional firefighters in the Service stands at 856.”
Mr. Loginos expressed satisfaction with these numbers, noting that, as he explained, there were only 550 personnel just two years ago. “Consequently, the Fire Department is gradually being strengthened, while we have to respond to approximately 13,500 incidents annually.
The government is strengthening the Fire Department, but in order to cover rural areas as well—where ‘from January 1 to today we have responded to around 1,550 fires’— “the Service needs further reinforcement, both with professional firefighters and other firefighting personnel.”
Continuing on the topic of rural fire stations, Mr. Loginos emphasized that “a relevant study is already underway at the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance to strengthen rural areas. At the moment, we have eight rural stations operating on a 24-hour basis for three to five months. Our goal is to operate all 14 existing rural stations on a 24-hour basis, and I have requested that 14 more outdoor stations be established so that we can reduce response times and contain fires as quickly as possible.”
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