In preparatory meetings for the preparation of the involved bodies in view of it fire season the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, participated in the morning, in Pylaia and the Panorama of Thessaloniki.

The first meeting held in Pylaia was attended by commanders and deputy commanders of the fire service and firefighters from the Region of Central Macedonia, while the second meeting held at Panorama town hall was attended by representatives of the Security Forces, the Armed Forces, the Local Government and the Region of Central Macedonia, forest chiefs, managers and forest inspectors, heads of independent civil protection directorates, representatives of the DEDDIE, the ADMIE, the E.K.EPY., the port authority and voluntary groups, etc.

“We will fight in northern Greece. I’m not happy with how things went last year. I am not happy with the way we have operated as a whole and neither has the Fire Department. I recognize that it was a very difficult fire season, but it will be this year as well. So prevention, organization, cooperation, hard work, low tones and everyone together”, the minister emphasized in his statements.

Mr. Kikilias pointed out that “there is no margin for petty political disputes, after all the Fire Service and Civil Protection are far outside parties and factions” and added that the priority is the protection of human life, people’s property and the environment.

Referring to the peculiarities of northern Greece, he said that there are from the forest of Sheikh Sou, the peri-urban forests of Thessaloniki and Halkidiki to the further east the part of Alexandroupoli, Dadia, eastern Macedonia and further west the region of Western Macedonia.

The minister also noted that there were already fires in April and even at high altitudes. “In Pieria, the fire was over 1,500 meters. This shows that the climate crisis is here. We will all work together, I repeat, in a few words and a lot of work, organization and we will fight. That’s all I can promise,” he added.