Article author:
Associated Press
Demetris Nellas
Athens, Greece (AP) — More than 200 firefighters from six European countries helping Greek colleagues fight wildfires The first person arrived in Athens.
Twenty-eight Romanian firefighters were welcomed on Saturday by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Christos Stylianides and the leader of the Greek Fire Department.
"Romania is pleased to be able to participate in the pre-deployment program with a professional fire brigade," said Romanian team leader Colonel Alexander-Adrian Syrick. "We have previous experience here in Greece."
Romanians, along with other countries, including Russia and Turkey, had extensive wildfires in Greece in August 2021. Helped to fight. The largest island, and the southern part of the Peloponnese Peninsula.
This year, the EU launched a "pre-deployment pilot project" designed to lead to a permanent European-wide cooperation program.
"We are expanding our preparations for the #forestfire season in Europe. As of today, +200 (firefighters) from all over Europe have been strategically deployed in Greece ( We plan to join the armed forces quickly before the fire) goes out of control. ”
Romanian firefighters who brought five fire trucks until July 31st. We are active in the Attic region, including the capital Athens.
People arriving on Friday Rescue by the same number of Romanian firefighters on July 15. Their location will be taken over by a powerful French delegation of 25 people in August.
A team of 16 Bulgarian firefighters with four fire trucks also arrived in Larissa, central Greece, on Friday and was welcomed by local and fire department officials. Bulgarians will stay in the area throughout July.
On July 15th, 16 German firefighters will begin operations on the Peloponnese Peninsula. They were replaced by 14 Norwegian and 24 Finnish firefighters in early August and were once rescued by the same number of compatriots in mid-August.
There are frequent wildfires in Greece, helped by hot and dry weather and frequent strong winds. Climate change also means that wildfire seasons are getting longer.
Greek officials say higher fuel costs have been added to the challenges faced by fire departments, which rely heavily on water-drop planes to combat mountain flames.
Greece will begin using flame-retardant chemicals in water droplets this year and will use fires tactically to fight larger flames.
Four of the six leaders of the foreign delegation saw a live fire drill west of Athens on Thursday. The leaders of the German and Norwegian teams watched the exercises online.
According to a study by an international consortium of research institutes, the expansion of wildfire seasons and the intensity of fires limit carbon dioxide emissions by reducing forests, which are usually effective carbon absorbers. It also has a negative impact on the efforts you make. This study suggests that the intensity of wildfires may gradually exceed the current fire extinguishing capacity.
-
Lefteri Spitalakis contributed to this report.
