Government red tape appears to have left the only survivor of a fire truck accident depending on his colleagues’ donations to feed his family.
Father-of-four Giorgos Siambtanis, 51, has been released from hospital but is still recovering from home after a fire truck he and two others had been travelling in went off a road and overturned while they were battling the recent forest fires in Solea.
The Labour Inspection Department, police and Forestry Department are all carrying out their own investigations into the accident that saw Marios Aristotelous and Andreas Sophocleous lose their lives when the fire engine they were travelling in overturned into a ravine.
Siambtanis was not paid his July salary and so his colleagues raised €700 amongst themselves to help him and his family cover their expenses.
Forestry Department Director Takis Tsintides has told reporters he had not been aware of the delay and noted the Social Insurance Department was responsible for paying salaries for for a specific time period while a worker was on sick leave.
Tsintides revealed Agriculture Minister Nicos Kouyialis had stepped in and given orders for some of the procedures to be sped up.
He also said that there was no question of Siambtanis not getting his money or losing his job. Tsintides said Siambtanis would be assigned suitable duties once he was well enough to return to work.
It is understood that two other fire-fighters – also injured in the line of duty while fighting the Solea blaze – would also be guaranteed a suitable position at work place once they recovered.
Beginning on June 19 and raging for days before being finally brought under control, the Troodos fires resulted in 18.5 square kilometres being destroyed by the flames.