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- Ελληνικά
The Cyprus Fire Brigade honours today its patron saints, the Holy Three Children of Kamino, whose memory is celebrated on 17 December.
In the long history of the Fire Service's contribution to the response to fires and any other difficult mission and operation that its members will be called upon to face, along with the diligence and sense of responsibility of the men and women of our Fire Service, there is also the pastoral care of the Church, which prays for the difficult work they perform. It is for this reason, moreover, that the Three Children were established as the Patron Saints of the Fire Brigade.
The Prophet Daniel and the Three Children, although they were young in age and lived under particularly difficult conditions during the Babylonian captivity, demonstrated unwavering faith in God, devotion to His commandments and heroic courage in the face of various dilemmas.
The Prophet Daniel and the Three Children, although they were young in age and lived under particularly difficult conditions during the Babylonian captivity, demonstrated unwavering faith in God, devotion to His commandments and heroic courage in the face of various dilemmas. By their manliness they were qualified by God to receive extraordinary spiritual benefits and gifts of healing for men.
Daniel emerged unharmed from the lions' den, where he had been thrown by order of the pagan king, and the three Children remained unharmed in the fiery furnace where they had been thrown because they refused to worship the king's golden image.
Both Daniel and the Three Little Children figure prominently in the hymnology of our Church and are promoted as types of Christ's Resurrection in terms of their miraculous rescue from certain death.
With their attitude to life, the Holy Three Children constitute a timeless moral model of duty, signifying deep Christian faith, bravery, boldness, determination, but above all love for man and the desire to contribute to society as a whole.
Virtues that we must also demonstrate, especially today when the safety and protection of citizens is a social good and an individual right that the State and especially the Fire Service must ensure.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are going through a difficult period in which the phenomenon of climate change, now visible to all of us, has led both to an increase in the frequency and intensity of fires and to the occurrence of extreme weather phenomena. Therefore, the need for continuous assessment and strengthening of the country's fire protection, prevention, response and suppression of fires, as well as the entire system of timely and effective response to protect and save human lives and safeguard citizens' property, is of the highest priority.
The State has entrusted the Fire Service with ensuring the particularly critical area of public safety, which, in an ever-changing environment and rapid technological developments, makes the role of the Firefighter even more important and at the same time difficult in a now diversified working environment, more demanding and more dangerous.
It is for this very reason that the Government of Nikos Christodoulides has set high among its priorities, apart from the upgrading and modernization of the Fire Service in terms of means and technological equipment, the continuous training of its members through the implementation of specialized training programs, as well as through participation in training programs abroad. The aim is that the Fire Service is always at the highest possible level of operational readiness to respond to any incident, whether it concerns fires or the response and management of extreme weather events or other man-made disasters and crises.
The Fire Service has so far demonstrated significant work and its response with great success to difficult incidents that we have had to deal with as a country and its participation in missions abroad largely outline the high level of professional training and dedication of its members.
Dear members of the Fire Service,
I am addressing all of you, every woman and man Firefighter, to publicly express the practical gratitude of the State and a big thank you for your daily dedication to the preservation of the highest good, which is none other than human life. For your daily battle to protect our natural environment. For your professionalism and self-denial in fulfilling your official duty, being the highest example of altruism and solidarity for all of us. Thank you for your contribution. We are with you every moment.
At the same time, we respect and honour the members of the Fire Service who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, fulfilling in the most sacred way their oath to society and to their country. We respect and honour the retired Firefighters who laid, each in his or her position, the foundations for a modern and reliable Fire Service.
I am sure that you will continue to make every possible effort in order to always be able to successfully meet the new demands of our times and that the Cyprus Fire Service will continue to be, everywhere and always, next to the citizens of our country.
Happy Birthday to the Fire Service. Happy Birthday to all of you and may the Holy Three Wise Men be your guides and protectors in the difficult work you are called upon to carry out every day.
Thank you.
(OP/GC)
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