“The time and place where the fire started raise reasonable questions,” the prime minister stressed
There is no room for complacency, as the fire fighting season remains ongoing, underlined today Kyriakos Mitsotakis from Penteli, where he performed an autopsy on the areas affected by the fire.
“August is in front of us, we have a lot of work to do and we must be ready to face any eventuality”, stressed the Prime Minister.
The prime minister assured that the damage to homes and businesses will be quickly recorded in order to compensate those affected, and pointed out that the damage is much more limited compared to the extent of the fire and adverse weather conditions.
Also, Mr. Mitsotakis assured that DEDIE will complete quickly the restoration of the electricity network.
The prime minister reiterated today that he does not exclude any possibility regarding the possibility of arson, stressing that the time and place where the fire started create reasonable questions.
“The fire was very difficult, I had the opportunity to tour its entire extent. Once again, warm congratulations to those who fought in the field, in truly unprecedented conditions, because the winds were truly extreme”, emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who also had the opportunity to talk with firefighters and Civil Protection officials.
“We have an image of the extent of the damage. What I consider positive is the fact that the number of houses damaged, although the fire entered the urban fabric, is very limited in relation to the intensity of the phenomenon. From now on, the competent authorities, responsible for the restoration, will take over”, said the Prime Minister during a stop at the mobile operations center “Olympos” of the Fire Brigade, in the square of Palaia Penteli.
“I said it yesterday and I repeat it today, that what I consider a positive development is the level of organization and coordination between all the relevant bodies. But nothing can ultimately replace it the self-sacrifice of firefighters and our volunteers, those who are really on the front line and I think we all saw images of great self-sacrifice”, pointed out the Prime Minister, while thanking and congratulating again all those who contributed to the extinguishing work.
“The fire was very difficult, I had the opportunity to tour its entire extent. Once again, warm congratulations to those who fought in the field, in truly unprecedented conditions, because the winds were really extreme”, emphasized Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who also had the opportunity to talk with firefighters and Civil Protection officials.
The first stop of the Prime Minister’s visit to the fire-stricken areas was the Penteli Children’s Hospital, which the firefighters managed to save from the flames.
The Prime Minister warmly thanked the firefighters for their difficult work. “These are the most difficult fires of all, you know it better here in the area which has been tested in the past. Considering the circumstances, the work done by the Fire Service was truly outstanding and I wanted to say a very big thank you personally for what you did. Of course we still have work ahead of us, but we will be at the forefront. Be well, guys, thank you very much”, emphasized the Prime Minister while talking to a fire department that was at the scene.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis toured the back of the hospital, where the battle was fought to prevent the fire from spreading to areas where flammable materials were located, such as the oxygen tank. The Prime Minister also spoke to the nursing staff who were waiting for him outside the Hospital.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ next stop was the point “Karakanda Spring”, on the road from Penteli to Agios Petros, from where all the points through which the fire passed were visible.
The Operations Coordinator of Attica and Fire Brigade Major General, Panagiotis Niafas and the Major General of the Fire Operations Division, Christos Lambris, together with the President of the Association of Municipalities for the Protection and Redevelopment of Penteliko, Vlasis Siomos, informed Kyriakos Mitsotakis and explained to him the difficult conditions that prevailed, while they referred to the strong winds that constantly changed direction and the eddies that made the extinguishing work difficult.
The Prime Minister also visited the burned areas in Drafi, Panorama Pallini and Anthousa.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Christos Stylianidis, the Minister of State, Akis Skertsos, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister responsible for State Aid and Rehabilitation from Natural Disasters, Christos Triantopoulos and the General Secretary of Civil Protection, Vassilis Papageorgiou.
Earlier, the Prime Minister was in Penteli Children’s Hospitals – which had to be evacuated due to the fire – and talked to both firefighters and hospital employees.
“We are grateful,” said the Prime Minister to the firefighters, congratulating them on their work and work.
Today, the autopsies and the inspection of the buildings in the affected areas continue, by the engineers of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Municipalities, while yesterday Wednesday, 30 autopsies were carried out in buildings. Of these, 19 concern residences, of which 4 have been deemed suitable for use, 8 temporarily unsuitable and 7 dangerous which will be re-inspected.
7 business premises and warehouses were also checked, of which three were deemed dangerous for use.
Fire department representative on SKAI for Penteli: Two fires started almost at the same time
For two fires that started almost at the same time in Penteli the representative of the fire department, Yiannis Artopioos, spoke to SKAI, in the wake of the Prime Minister’s statement that the possibility of arson cannot be ruled out.
“At the point in Dau Pentelis there is a certain forest patrol car, but we had reports to our investigative offices from the arson department at 5:19 a.m. two fires started almost simultaneously,” he said characteristically, pointing out that all the data is being checked.
“Two fronts started almost simultaneously which troubled us. The patrol car tried to react at first, but the fire spread too quickly due to the very strong wind that directed the fire towards Drafi” said Yiannis Artopaios.
In terms the fire in Megara Mr. Artophios stated that it broke out almost simultaneously after the end of the alarm in Penteli, where it managed to become manageable within the first eight hours, while then three different fires broke out in Salamina.
His staff has been put on alert Fire Brigade and all her powers Civil Protection due to the special conditions that are expected to prevail today and favor the occurrence and expansion of fires, but also due to the very high risk of fire predicted tomorrow in many areas of Central and Southern Greece and in the islands of the Aegean.
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