Most of the fire in West Attica has been contained, but it is not yet under full control, announced the Minister of Civil Protection Michael Chrysochoidis in an emergency briefing from the Fire Brigade Operations Centre.
«Our priorities are to ensure escape routes for any emergency that may arise, to protect infrastructure and property and of course, to contain the fire to its current limits,» the Minister said and expressed his thanks to the men and women of the Fire Brigade, volunteers and all personnel fighting on the front line. «They have our full confidence, our sincere gratitude. No one is left out,» the minister said.
He made a special reference to the foreign missions and especially to the Poles and Romanians who are fighting on the West Attica front, but also to the other fires.
«I would like to express our thanks to the forces of the European Mechanism and third countries that are assisting in the firefighting with hiking teams, in order, among other things, to rest their Greek colleagues who have been in the field day and night for a month. As the Prime Minister also mentioned today, we express our great thanks,» the Minister stressed.
«The struggle is common and the conditions are adverse, yet most of the fronts have been closed,» Mr Chrysochoidis said:
«In this common struggle, to tackle the phenomenon of fire, we are working hard. Firefighters, Civil Protection, European Mechanism, Army, Region, Municipalities, Voluntary groups, but also the citizens of the region are all on our side. Undoubtedly we are all on the front line of the fire, with all our forces in dispersion. We have reinforced the forces operating. The Fire Brigade, together with the Polish forces made available to us by the European Mechanism, are operating with a total of 461 firefighters, with foot patrols, 166 vehicles and unmanned firefighting aircraft. The Army, has deployed 3 fire-fighting helicopters and 92 officers and soldiers manning the firefighting teams.
The Region and the Municipalities of the area are assisting with a large number of water trucks and earthmoving equipment. All of our pilots, every day, overstretch themselves».
As the minister said, in the fire in Vilia, until last light, 33 air assets including Beriev were periodically operated until last light.
In addition, Romania has offered a vehicle patrol to assist in the response to the fires, «an offer which we gratefully accepted».
Mr Chrysochoidis referred to a specific plan that was followed to deal with the fire.
«From the very first moment we have been implementing a specific operational plan for the response to the fire, a plan that is constantly evolving taking into account the particularly difficult conditions in the field, the rugged and inaccessible terrain with no zones and no roads, the compact forest, the high temperatures and the absolute drought of the last period, but also the constant changes in wind direction. The mobilization continues to be very high, with all available air and ground assets in the fight,» he said, adding:
«At this point I would like to make a special mention to our firefighters, our pilots, all the personnel who are assisting us in this battle, as well as our volunteers. The Prime Minister mentioned it here today at the Fire Brigade Coordination Committee. We thank the women and men of the Corps for their superhuman efforts and the sacrifice they show every day.».
Mr.Chrysochoidis said that in the last 24 hours 55 new fires occurred and across the country the fire brigades are managing a total of 94 forest fires.
«We remain on full alert and in this context we announce that there will be 24-hour continuous scheduled patrols by the Police, the Army and of course the Fire Brigade, in suburban groves, in the countryside and in forest areas, in order to prevent and immediately respond to fires.
We call our fellow citizens to full vigilance and alertness! In the coming days we must be particularly careful, as we expect an increase in wind intensity and therefore an increased risk of fire. We refrain from any action that may lead to a fire outbreak.
Protecting our natural wealth is everyone's business».
Overnight army and police patrols to prevent fires - 53 arsonists arrested in 15 days
The army and police will be on patrol throughout the night in areas where fires are likely to break out, across the country. Mixed and unmixed patrols of members of all arms of the Armed Forces (Armed Forces-PN-PA) and police officers will move from today, and for at least 7 more days, in all dangerous places, but also where it is judged by the Civil Protection, making their presence felt with beacons, sirens and any other appropriate way.
The patrols have been organized by the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Citizen Protection in consultation with the General Secretariat for Civil Protection and from tonight they will be carried out nationwide (mainland and islands).
It is worth noting that since August 3 to date, the police have made 25 arrests and 188 arrests for arson. Similarly, from the Arson Investigation Division of the Fire Service, since August 5 to date, 28 arrests have been made for 24 cases of arson. Of those arrested by the Fire Brigade, 13 have been charged with arson with intent and 3 with arson with intent and 3 with arson with intent. One case has already been given a 5-year sentence without parole, another was given 2 years in prison and another was given another 18 months with parole.
