For this year’s “toughest firefighting season in 20 years,” the tough battles that the Fire Department to protect property, lives and forests, but also about what has changed this year in the operational doctrine for fighting forest fires, he spoke on Sunday Minister of Climate Crisis It is Civil ProtectionS.
In an interview with ERT, Mr. Vassilis Kikilias He stressed that this year’s firefighting season is like no other and every day is critical.
“Look, we are on the 14th consecutive day of high temperatures around 40 degrees. It is obvious that this tests our resistance. However, the effort we are making is organized and structured. Our firefighters, our volunteers, forest commanders, forestry chiefs with forestry workers, ELAS, the Armed Forces, the first and second level Local Government with water and earthmoving machines, are all together on the ground, coordinated in the new doctrine of the Fire Department. I thank everyone very much”, said the minister.
As noted, the new doctrine with faster and more timely take-off of aerial vehicles and more aggressive tactics for dealing with forests fires So far it is yielding results. “However, I will not tire of saying, until the end of the fight against the fire, that no one can underestimate the elements of nature and that a small mistake or even an intentional arson is enough to cause damage and destruction,” he said.
Mr. Kikilias made special reference to the prevention aspect and its crucial importance in combating this year’s fires. “We worked hard throughout the winter and spring on prevention.
I would like to thank our 834,000 fellow citizens who cleaned up their land. This is a huge number, and a huge effort. It is one thing to have two meters of grass and the fire is “running” uncontrollably, and another to have a cleared plot of land where the fire is not “moving”.
Secondly, DEDDIE and ADMIE went into the forests after 50 years and created fire zones. Do you understand how important this is? They should keep their nets and we should be able to put our fire extinguishers in there.
Thirdly, now in the field they are all together and doing a sensational job this year. They work non-stop day and night. Three, four, five and six days required the firefighters to stay in the field to rekindle. At night you can’t see anything, in the morning there is 1-2 smokes and at noon the flames explode again somewhere, because this is the climate.
We are in your heart climate crisisin an insurmountable condition. The antennas are raised obligatorily with any announcement, that is, we do not wait for the firefighter to arrive to warn us that there is a fire. And in Attica and other regions of the country, at critical times of the day, depending on the decisions of the Chief of Police, the antennas fly full of water. This is a big change and intersection. Like the fact that now in Attica – and it is spreading to the rest of Greece – we have drones 24 hours a day flying over our forested volumes and semi-urban – semi-forested areas with infrared cameras, capable of detecting at night. We see in the Ministry’s Operations Center through the drone cameras the beginning of the fire and we all run faster, more organized and coordinated to protect our fellow citizens. Technology now works in our favor”, said the Minister.
“Organized system of cooperation with EL.AS, HYPETHA, YMPE”
He also thanked the Ministry of Citizen Protection for EL.AS’s decisive assistance in fighting the fires, as well as the Ministries of National Defense and Environment and Energy. As he stated, “Mr. Dendias, based on what we discussed last year, organized and established a vertically integrated structure led by Lieutenant General Klouvas, an excellent officer, who deals with the emergency of fires or any disasters.
The Armed Forces, in addition to the patrols in the forests that are organized and structured throughout the country, also contribute with the machines they have: the propellers, the trackers, the GCBs, which now advance to points where they can reach the field and are made available to the forester who works with the firefighter and decides where to make fire zones to extinguish a fire.
This is the third year that they have implemented AntiNero, the program for deforestation and opening up areas in forests.
Furthermore, after 40 years, the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has granted 1,500 recruitments to the forestry offices for foresters and forestry workers. Therefore, there is now an organized system of cooperation of all these forces within the framework of Civil Protection in order to protect our fellow citizens. It is crucial and important,” he stressed.
“And for tobacco, call 199 or 112”
The Minister of Civil Protection appealed to all citizens to help in the great effort being made to deal with forest fires, stressing that “despite the technology, drones or anything else we have to fight fires, our fellow citizens, if they see something, should call the Fire Department on 199 or 112, the Civil Protection center. A direct contact, so that we can investigate even a small smoke. Even if they are not sure, it is okay. Ask the Fire Department to check.
There is no room for error in the height of summer. It is now July 21st. We have the rest of July and all of August ahead of us, and then an autumn, and we don’t know how the weather will behave.
Let us all come together to defend our country. I think it is the most patriotic and the clearest and cleanest thing we can do at this time, to show that we respect our family, the island where we live, our village, our city, our fellow men,” the minister stressed.