Fire breaks out in the Penteli area of Greece
Extinguishing efforts hampered due to absence of Russian Βeriev BE-200 aircraft!
Greek government “shoots itself in the foot” for contributing to anti-Russian sanctions!
-John Kountouris | 20 July 2022 | 9:19am | Athens | [email protected]
An order has been given for the evacuation of Anthousa, Drafi, Dioni and Dasamari – The army has been on standby…
According to the Greek site ProNews.gr, a major fire broke out in the hilly, mountainous region of Penteli on Tuesday in Attika county in Greece. Strong winds aided the fire which has been a constant pain in the side of residents and firefighters.
Despite the fact that 112 messages had been sent to evacuate Drafi and Anthousa at the beginning of the fire, residents refused to leave their homes –despite a well-known plan implemented by the government since last year for evacuation– because they are afraid that their property will simply be lost afterwards .
Greeks speaking on TV stations have been asking for the intervention of the army and fire brigade.
The police are trying to remove them, because the situation with the fire in Penteli is dangerous.
In fact, as the Mayor of Pikermio – Rafinas Vangelis Burnous stated, not even half of the residents have left, but stayed because they are trying to save their properties.
In fact, the image of a resident of Penteli trying to put out the fire with a hose that has reached a breath from his house is shocking, as the fire has been ongoing since Tuesday afternoon (19.7.2022) throughout that area.
Residents are trying to protect their houses from the fire in Penteli, even though the police are pushing them away.
At this time, one of the most dangerous fronts of the fire is on the road from Palea Penteli to Agios Petros, specifically east of the monastery of Aghios Asomatas.
The fire there is moving in a southerly direction, but if the winds turn westerly then it will head towards the Children’s Hospital and Old Penteli.
So far, the Fire Brigade forces have to face two fronts, one moving towards Drafi and another moving south and west towards the area of Kallithea and Kalivia Pentelis.
A huge area on the mountain of Penteli is on fire, specifically in Drafi, the neighboring and bordering Anthousa, Dasamari and Dioni with the evacuation order for the last two settlements having been given at 20:10
According to Protothema.gr:
Scattered fires in Gerakas, Anthousa, Pallini and Dioni, exist at this time according to the latest update of the Fire Department from the representative Yiannis Artophios, who also presented a relevant map.
See map:
At the same time, the fire is burning from both sides of Marathonos Street.
According to Mr. Artopifos, emphasis is placed on the SW side of the fire, on the border with Attiki Odos, near the facilities of OASA and SE also, on the borders with Attiki Odos, near the facilities of VIANEX.
Great efforts are being made to protect all urban fabric located within the perimeter of the fire.
485 firefighters are operating with 28 teams on foot and 120 vehicles.
The Romanian firefighters, which have been helping early on, also remain in the field. Five aircraft and four helicopters are already operating for aerial firefighting, one of which is for aerial coordination, while another four aircraft and three helicopters have been mobilized. They are supported by the Forestry Service, EKAV, GES, OTA and ELAS, which has 626 police officers with 232 vehicles.
BE-200: The presence of the Russian “giant” was necessary to deal with the “hell” in Penteli…
The Greek government has shot itself in the foot with regards to the Russian sanctions!
According again to ProNews.gr:
Instead we have the Air-Tractor that doesn’t fly when it’s windy…
The absence of the Russian giant Beriev BE-200–due to the government’s choice to proceed with the imposition of anti-Russian sanctions without regard for Greek interests and needs–has been a catalyst for the fires.
At a critical juncture where Attica is threatened by a fire front of terrifying dimensions, the biggest firefighting “weapon” that the Fire Department has ever had is absent.
The Beriev proved instrumental in fighting fires in last summer’s extremely difficult summer, and its enormous potential was realized in practice and in the field.
What did the government that supposedly increased the budget by 35% replace it with?
With Air-Tractor aircraft.
The basin of Attica will be waiting for the tired CL-415 Canadair that will come from Thessaloniki to put out the fire on the Penteli-Drafi front because the “awesome and terrible” Air-Tractor simply cannot fly because it is windy!
Even the CL-415 Canadairs struggle with water drops when the winds are gusty. But not the giant Russian BE-200.
Chaos in Pallini from the fiery holocaust – “There is a natural gas leak and explosions are being heard”
Residents have been trying to save their homes and area on their own as moments of terror occur in Pallini, as according to what a resident of the area stated, there is a natural gas leak and explosions are being heard on Edison Hill.
There was no fire engine at the scene, with residents trying to save their homes on their own as the fire is only a few meters away from their homes.
What has caused despair, however, is the intensity of the winds, which reach 8 to 9 Beaufort. With such power and given the inadequacy of the state apparatus, they do not create any optimism for their development.
Regarding Pallini, we should note that we are talking about the first area that belongs to the urban complex of the capital.