British firefighters will be sent Greece This weekend, they support the fight against the wildfires that have run out of control over the past few days.
Fire brigades from Merseyside, Lancashire, South Wales, London and West Midlands will fly to Athens this weekend, and France Said that it would provide three more aircraft and 80 firefighters to join the hundreds of firefighters already dispatched.
In the past 24 hours, more than 400 wildfires have erupted in various parts of Greece. The island of Evia and the Peloponnese have been particularly affected.
Priti Patel, the Minister of the Interior who visited Greece earlier this week, said she has asked the National Fire Chiefs Committee (NFCC) to deploy experts who will join the madness of the country’s worst wildfires in three years. reaction, One volunteer firefighter was killed and at least 20 people were injured.
In a tweet on Saturday night, Patel said: “We are sending a team of experienced firefighters to support the Greek firefighters who are currently fighting a huge fire. Earlier this week, when I visited Greece While traveling together, I saw the devastating effects of the fire. Britain stands with you.”
We are sending a team of experienced firefighters to support the Greek firefighters who are currently fighting a huge fire.
When I visited my Greek counterparts earlier this week, I saw the devastating effects of the fire.
Britain stands with you.
🙏🏽🇬🇷-Pritipatel (@pritipatel) August 7, 2021
NFCC Chairman Mark Hardingham said: “The British Fire and Rescue Service will provide support to our colleagues in Greece and the communities in need of assistance in these devastating wildfires.
“The NFCC’s national resilience function is in place and can be deployed in the UK and overseas-the team is very skilled in responding to such extreme events.
“When help is needed, we can provide our firefighting families in Greece with professional and technical skills; the professionalism of FRS employees to provide assistance is deep-rooted.”
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “France supports Greece, and Greece is being severely affected by the catastrophic fire. After discussing with the Prime Minister [Kyriakos Mitsotakis], 3 Canadians and 80 French firefighters and rescuers were deployed in Greece [to assist] There are emergency procedures. Solidarity, as a European, it will always be like this. “
A fire in the northern suburbs of Athens was initially thought to have been contained but expanded again later on Thursday
However, it is expected that the unstable wind that has blown the flame in the rapidly changing direction will increase, which means that the major threat that the fire will worsen again remains.
By Saturday night, the fire on the island of Evia, east of Athens, was burning uncontrollably. Villagers there demanded to evacuate, calling for them to be airlifted from the community surrounded by flames by plane. The local mayor echoed the anxiety of the panicked residents and criticized the authorities for not getting enough help in the face of the squally winds that swept across the island.
“In our municipality, no village has not been burnt down,” Giorgos Tsapournioti, the mayor of Mantoudi, who was affected by the fire in the northern part of the island, told SKAI TV. “More than 400,000 forests have turned into cinders. For five days, I have been crying for help, and we have not received enough help on land, and of course there is not enough help in the air.”
Further south of the Peloponnese, a previously controlled fire is raging in the Ilia area, and residents there are also urged to evacuate their homes. The flames are getting closer and closer to the ruins of Ancient Olympia, and villagers in Nemuta are reportedly desperately clearing bushes and trimming trees to prevent their property from being burned. Firemen It also fought the line of fire in the Arcadia area.
On the outskirts of Athens, the fire in the north of the capital appears to have been brought under control, and residents who fled hell earlier this week were allowed to return to their destroyed homes.
The government that vowed to reforest the fire-ravaged woodlands has been placing victims in hotels.
In the prolonged heat wave that began 11 days ago, the unprecedented temperature that plagued Greece fell on Friday but will rise again early next week.
More than 800 firefighters, including support personnel from Cyprus, France and Israel, have been fighting the fire north of Athens with the assistance of the army and water jets.
“Under no circumstances should we be complacent,” Nikos Hardalias, Deputy Minister of Civil Defense, said in the emergency briefing. “We are fighting a very big battle.”
