With 600 fires erupting across Greece in a period of seven days, Greece’s firefighting capabilities have been stretched to the limit.
Zougla.gr photoreporter Nikos Christofakis, who has worked in the industry for ten years, is no stranger to natural disasters which he captures through his lense every year, including the fires at Mati two years ago where, once again, he saw scenes of Armageddon. He has witnessed huge efforts to fight blazes but “sufficient means, such as aerial firefighting and vehicles do not exist”, he told Neos Kosmos, adding that another huge problem – apart from lack of equipment – is that “staffing of the fire brigade by firefighters is minimal” each year.
“In 2018, the fires had a speed of 9 to 10 Beaufort per hour and almost burned an entire settlement with thousands of inhabitants unable to escape by plane nor helicopter,” Mr Christofakis said.
In the fires today there were no winds, there were vast forestlands, and there were not enough means to extinguish it when it started, resulting in it developing throughout the island of Evia due to the understaffing of the fire brigade.”
The goal of the fire brigade this year, Mr Christofakis said, was to protect villages, and to evacuate these when necessary.
One of his most iconic photos he took shows a little girl, Valentina, crying in her car as her father rushed into the fire to protect their house near the village of Gouves in Evia. His team managed to stop her mother from plunging into the flames, leaving her two children behind to help her husband battle to save their home.
“We headed to the main road of the village where there was a car with a girl in it,” Mr Christofakis said. “Her mother was in shock because her husband went to save the house which almost burnt down. The little girl in the car, Valentina, was crying and shouting for her dad. There was also a four-year-old boy crying. I put him in my car looking for my own child’s toys. I also approached the little girl and gave her a toy and told her not to worry, her dad is fine and has gone to get help. When I gave it to her, she stopped crying.”
Thankfully all family members survived and the house was saved.
READ MORE: Blazes rage in Greece for 9th day, rekindled fires in Evia, Olympia and new fire in Aspropyrgos
Ecological catastrophe
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday described Greece’s devastating fires as “the greatest ecological catastrophe of the last few decades”.
With 600 hundreds of fires erupting across the country in a period of seven days, Greece’s firefighting capabilities were stretched to the limit causing the government to appeal for help from abroad, with 24 European and Middle Eastern countries assisting the efforts.
“We managed to save lives, but we lost forests and property,” Mr Mitsotakis said, referring to the most protracted heat wave experienced in Greece since 1987.
“Next year we will be better. Ι can’t cancel the preparation that has been made but the phenomenon was beyond our powers and the level of our preparation,” Mr Mitsotakis said, adding that it is certain that not all fires broke out by accident though he had no evidence of an “organised plan” to burn areas in the hope that real estate investments would follow. The Greek leader said that the Greek Constitution provides for the immediate reforestation of the burnt areas of land.
Foreign aid
Aid offered by foreign governments has been crucial. Greece’s prime minister gave special thanks to Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Wednesday.
Ukraine, Qatar and Romania together sent Greece 340 firefighters and 24 vehicles to fight the wildfires.
All up, 24 countries assisted Greece, showing solidarity to the country.
Neos Kosmos on Wednesday sent questions to the office of Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ask for the government’s stance on the fires and any offers of help being sent to Greece, bearing in mind Australia’s own firefighting efforts at the start of 2020 and cordial ties with Greece. We have yet to receive a response.
Fire appeals have been started from within the Greek community in Australia, with Melbourne’s Greek community leading the way in efforts to support the firefighting efforts just as it had during the devastating fires in 2018 when it raised funds for the Hellenic Volunteer Fire Fighting Association (HVFFA) to purchase much-needed protective equipment.
Showing a front of unity, the Greek Community of Melbourne reached out to numerous Greek Australian groups and organisations to help once again, many have already heeded the call and there is a growing number of groups joining together as part of the GCM’s efforts.
Community organisations, businesses and individuals can all contribute to this drive simply by making a donation via either heading to the Go Fund Me page campaign which has been established for the campaign https://gofund.me/e071edf0 or by a direct deposit into the Greek Community’s Greek fires account: BSB 063 023 and Account number 1042 1568.
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia has also started its own separate firefighting appeal and has set up its own gofundme page (gofundme.com/f/greece-2021-fire-appeal) and account. To help in the Archdiocese’s efforts deposit money to BSB 082 057, account number 12 693 2006
In a message to Greek Orthodox Australians, Archbishop Makarios said: “With pain of soul, we watch the unfolding of the destructive fires that are mortally wounding the body of our beloved homeland in the last days. Our hearts are suffering along with every brother and sister who is hurting; for every house and property that is engulfed in flames; for every speck of forest that is reduced to ashes.”
READ MORE: Greece on fire: scenes of destruction as 98 new fires break out
He said the appeal was started to “mobilise practical support for our brothers and sisters who have lost their properties”.
“I have communicated with the Metropolitans whose dioceses are in the fire-affected regions and conveyed to them the support of our God-loving Bishops, the pious clergy and the Christ-loving people of Australia,” he said.
