With the arrival of spring and the increase in temperatures, the risk of fires caused by accumulations of dry grass, unattended pruning residues and other causes becomes increasingly probable. Among these, the malicious actions of arsonists have caused serious damage in various areas of the territory in recent years.
To prevent such fires in the countryside and forests, on April 12, the mayor of Nicosia, Luigi Bonelli, issued an ordinance establishing specific rules to prevent the onset of fires due to various causes, including those related to various economic activities .
The union ordinance provides for the following rules: The owners or managers of land along the roads and paths of the Municipality must keep their land free from accumulations of cereals, grasses and dry leaves or other combustible materials up to 20 meters from the edge of the road . It is absolutely forbidden to burn plant residues in the field, constituting the crime of illicit waste disposal. Any accumulations of cereals ready for threshing or cut heaps must be positioned no less than 50 meters from roads, tracks and farmhouses. Stores and piles must be piled up at a distance of no less than 10 meters from each other, with the caveat that the ground itself must be free of stubble or other dry grass. Smoking or lighting fires for any reason in the farmyards and near product depots is strictly prohibited.
Furthermore, it is also prohibited at any time to launch rockets, balloons or light fireworks in the woods, at a distance of 500 meters from fields where there are sheaves or placed within the perimeter of buildings intended for factories or explosive and flammable materials. Smoking in the countryside and in the woods outside of clearings and beaten streets during the summer and autumn seasons.
People who work in agriculture or who look after livestock can light a fire for personal use in the places and at the permitted distance, as long as they protect the hearth from the wind with stones or earth to prevent sparks from being thrown and ensure that it is extinguished.
Anyone who has news of a fire in the countryside, in the woods or in the vicinity of deposits of explosive and flammable materials, has the obligation to immediately notify the mayor, the carabinieri command, the police, the nearest forestry command or to the firefighters of the nearest detachment and to involve the people who are in the immediate vicinity in the firefighting operations.
Finally, every citizen has the obligation to contribute with their work in the event of fire in the countryside, in the woods and in the aforementioned locations.
TeleNicosia.it editorial team founded in July 2013. The newspaper is registered with the Court of Nicosia at no. 2/2013.
