He commented on the particularly difficult conditions under which firefighters are battling the fires on the front lines, often with very few resources at their disposal, Nikos Lavranos, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Fire Department Employees' Unions.
«As firefighters, we have learned to live with urban and wildfires. »So far, all incidents have been dealt with immediately, but last weekend was the most difficult of this year's fire season, with hundreds of fires and flare-ups." he said in an interview with ATHINA 9.84 and Giorgos Trapezotis.
He also noted that the women and men of the Fire Department are working at full capacity, under conditions of excessive workload, every day. «Last weekend, firefighters worked »More than 30 hours each—under hellish conditions—and they deserve at least some praise for managing to bring hundreds of fires under control.".
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND MEASURES AIMED AT PREVENTION AND STRENGTHENING FIREFIGHTING EFFORTS
Distinguishing between the measures announced from time to time and their actual implementation, Nikos Lavranos called for 500 new hires annually to fill the more than 3,000 vacant positions in the Public Sector, while also referring to the the crucial role of a firefighter's personal protective equipment along with the motorized and airborne fleet.
«Improvements are also being made as part of the AIGIS program, which is expected to modernize the Corps over the next five years. However, we are lagging behind in terms of human resources. There are 3,600 vacant positions, according to the 2022 Government Gazette, and because there is a great need for more firefighting personnel, at least 3,000 of these vacancies must be filled. »These shortages are detrimental to the firefighters themselves and their operational work.".
500 NEW HIRES NEEDED STARTING THIS YEAR – AT LEAST 300 FIREFIGHTERS RETIRE EACH YEAR
«We strongly demand the hiring of permanent firefighters to fill at least half of the existing vacancies. We are calling for the hiring of 500 or 600 firefighters each year, starting with this year’s budget, as the average age is 48 years, with all that this entails in the operational context, »while the number of people leaving due to retirement is estimated at 300 per year".
