“Macedonia is solidarity, team spirit, battle, coolness and struggle – all this reflects what we saw this year in an anti-fire period that has not ended” said the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias, speaking at an event in Thessaloniki, in honor of all those who contributed decisively to the fight against this year’s fires.

In the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mr. Kikilias took stock of the current firefighting season so far, saying that the firefighters fought over 4,000 battles, but this time they were not alone: ​​”There were firefighters, volunteers, foresters, policemen, military, forest chiefs, forest workers, regional governors, deputy regional governors, civil protection officers, mayors, deputy mayors, mandated councilors, my colleagues. In the battle non-stop”.

He also spoke about the fires that occurred in Northern Greece, commenting that there were more compared to Southern Greece, especially in areas with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters.

Mr. Kikilias praised the work of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the field of Civil Protection, pointing out that he “took over a decayed and dusty General Secretariat, envisioned it, made it the Ministry of Civil Protection”. “With faith and persistence, he created a tool for Civil Protection that has been proven to save lives. He took the responsibility and gave thousands of recruitments through our Schools, so with exams, but also the appointments of over 2,500 firefighters and forest rangers”.

Continuing his report to the Prime Minister, the Minister emphasized that “he put his signature on 2.1 billion euros for 1,100 fire engines for the House so that the ones we have also go to municipalities and voluntary organizations, he pushed with faith – when everyone said that we’re never going to get a Canarder again – and after half a century we’re getting seven Canarder-515s that fly night/day and will come from late 2026 to 2030, making a big legacy.”

Also listing the firefighting means with which the country is being strengthened, he mentioned ten medium-sized helicopters, 300 dicabins for the foresters, cars and engines for the EL.AS., 300 ambulances of the EKAV, Artificial Intelligence, 24+8 tractors ( so-called amphibians) and equipment for volunteers.

The event, which took place in a hotel in Thessaloniki, was attended by dozens of firefighters and volunteers, police officers, port officers, military personnel, etc.