“What is happening this year is unprecedented, with strong effects both in intensity and in the number of fire starts. We must adapt to the new data and make every possible effort, as necessary and as required, in order to respond to the sacred duty we serve”, says Kostas Tsigas, president of the Fire Brigade Officers’ Union.
“Hot” June
A total of 1,281 agroforestry fires were recorded across the country in the days of June alone. During the same period a year ago, the fires did not exceed 533. The increase reaches 140%! The numbers capture the “signs” of climate change, as according to scientists, it was the warmest June on record.
“The reduced humidity for the season as a consequence of the low rainfall created conditions for the rapid spread of all the fires which mostly originate from the burning of crop residues. The climate crisis has changed all the data at a global level, both in terms of the danger and the treatment of rural fires in general”, noted experienced firefighters.
Fewer “MEGAFIRES»
More than 35,000 acres were reduced to ashes in just 12 hours, from the forest fire that occurred last June in the Mastrantoni region of Achaia, according to an analysis of satellite data by the National Observatory. It was the largest “footprint” of destruction on a fiery front in Greece in 2024. Indicative of the dynamics of this particular fire is the fact that the fire that burned for seven days in Falakro of Drama, destroyed approximately 11,000 acres, an area much smaller compared to that of Achaias, where the fire changed… prefecture within a few hours.
Only 5,551 were the burned acres from the devastating fires that had occurred during the difficult weekend of the 29her and June 30th in Attica. According to the results of the Copernicus Service of the European Union, 646 acres were affected by the fire in Katsimidi Parnitha, in the one in Stamata the burned areas amounted to 1,300 acres, while in Keratea 3,605 acres.
So far, firefighters say they have managed fewer dangerous MEGAFIRES compared to 2023, which burned more than 1,800,000 acres. Only in Evros, where the fire caused the enormous ecological disaster in Dadia, the burnt acres exceeded 962,000, while there were corresponding records in Rhodes (165,721 acres) and Dervenochoria (117,034 acres).
Three fines a day
Intentional or negligent fires, hot work, dangerous barbecues, depositing bee smoke residues in the forest, burning garbage-waste and cables. In July alone, officers from the Arson Crime Squad have made 34 arrests across the country. During the same period, the “stingy” fines against those who do not comply with the prescribed legislation have exceeded 73. Every day of the fire season, the authorities proceed with at least 1 arrest, while confirming more than three administrative fines.
With the change in legislation, even those responsible for negligent arson, in case the risk index for a fire is 4 or 5, will face up to 10 years in prison, while administrative fines will reach 200,000 euros. The case of the 72-year-old man who was arrested as the culprit for the two fires in Velos Korinthias in the Stimaga area is typical. For the smaller fire that broke out on July 18, he was sentenced to 37 months in prison without parole, while for the large fire that burned more than 4,000 acres, he apologized to the Court of First Instance of Corinth and, with the agreement of the investigator and the prosecutor, was deemed a temporary prisoner until the trial is set.
With drone and laden patrols
According to the “new doctrine” of the Fire Service, from the beginning of the fire fighting season, loaded aircraft and helicopters, ready for extinguishing, patrol according to the danger index throughout the country, in an effort to immediately deal with the first outbreaks of fire. This is the main change observed in fire protection design, compared to previous years. At the same time, the “fleet” of 25 drones monitoring the Attic sky has taken on a significant role in the timely first response. 24 hours a day they transmit image to the Operations Center, giving valuable time to the firefighting forces. For the better functioning of the mechanism, during this year’s fire fighting season, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) team of the Fire Brigade was also reinforced with additional drones which are scattered throughout the territory to monitor mountainous areas. It is indicative that in the Municipality of Vari-Voulas-Vouliagmeni, a few weeks ago, the firefighters were able to put out a fire in just five minutes from the moment the drone transmitted an image of its start.
Prevention remains a key part of the planning, with the burden falling on the cleaning of the plots, where 834,000 citizens submitted a statement on the new platform. For the third year, the Ministry of the Environment is implementing the AntiNero program, which concerns cleaning and opening zones in the forests, while after several years, in 2024, DEDDIE and ADMIE carried out cleanings within forest areas in places where high and ultra-high voltage poles pass and created fire zones.
“It is indeed the most difficult fire season we have faced as all-time records for the hottest months on the planet have been broken. It has not rained, it has not snowed, there is no humidity, we have not experienced winter or autumn or spring this year in Greece, nor in the Balkans, nor in the Mediterranean. It’s still late July, we have a long way to go. We see a battle every day, which I have promised that we will all fight”, said a few days ago, speaking on SKAI radio, the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias.
Forester, army and air transport
“The operational planning for this summer is being implemented having trained almost all of the Fire Department personnel during the winter. 650 forest commanders, almost all of whom come from seasonal firefighters with increased experience in forest firefighting, were hired and staff the ten new Special Forest Operations Units in Alexandroupolis, Kozani, Tripoli, Volos, Rhodes, Mytilini, Chios, Samos, Corfu and Kefalonia, while they already existed and were strengthened in Eleusis, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Lamia, Ioannina and Patras. In all EMODE there is an aerial vehicle that transports the personnel directly to the scene of the fire”, Costas Tsigas, president of the Union of Fire Brigade Officers, emphasizes to Sunday’s Free Press, adding that during this year’s fire fighting season, his assistance is also crucial army.
“The contribution of the Ministry of National Defense is significant since it organized and established a natural disaster response branch and now contributes decisively to the work of the Fire Brigade not only with patrols but also with many construction machines, earth movers, pushers and crawlers which are scattered every day and in many they are at the front of the fire in a short time to be able to open roads for the fire engines and create fire zones where required”, he says.
The data tables
| AGRICULTURAL FORESTRY FIRES | |
| JUNE
2023 |
533 |
| JUNE
2024 |
1.281
(+140%) |
| AGRICULTURAL FORESTRY FIRES | |
| 01/05/2023-
24/07/2023 |
1.613 |
| 01/05/2024-
24/07/2024 |
2.781
(+72%) |
| JULY 2024 (01-24/7) | |
| ARRESTS | 34 |
| FINES | 73 |
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#Fires #Rescue #drones #flying #patrols #firefighting #doctrine #pays
