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As the death toll rises to 88, members of the fire brigade express their anger over the government's handling of the catastrophic fires in Attica, according to a report by the British Observer
"The authorities were not only unfortunately not prepared to face the fire, but they did not apologize for the tragedy," said fire chief Dimitris Stathopoulos
.
"The government can claim that there have not been any serious commercial mistakes, but what it does not say, it is that it There have been thousands of small mistakes, "Stathopoulos told the observer.
"All these mistakes created the big mistake and that's why we had such an unprecedented number of deaths."
The fire department recommended the evacuation of the area, but it was not heard,
In addition, the meteorological service has failed to predict winds blowing at a maximum speed of 124 km / h. This has the effect of stopping airborne fire-extinguishing agents
"They simply could not take off with such winds.If the weather service had raised the level of risk and emitted one warning, the planes could have gone to another airport, and since there was no provision, our resources were dispersed, "Stathopoulos insisted,"
The government is overwhelmed by the disaster. In what has been turned into one of the worst natural disasters in our memory, many victims were children, and relief teams continue to "comb" the land and sea to locate missing persons
From the beginning, the authorities seem to have underestimated the magnitude and speed of fires along the coast of Attica
"When the flames had already destroyed the eye, where the number of dead was the largest Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras did not seem well informed of the scale of the disaster, saying to the Greeks after a meeting at the business center: our fellow citizens are in danger … Some are trapped in the beaches, we must be vigilant, it is an extremely difficult situation for Attica and the country, "says the report
On Friday, the Prime Minister badumed political responsibility for the tragedy, but he has not satisfied the calls for the resignation of Nikos Tossas, the registrar of civil status and other officials
Referring to the Cabinet, he repeated the affirmation of Tosca according to which the evidence appeared to be arson
However, on Saturday, the fire department rejected the theory of arson, stating that "the fire is likely to be triggered by someone else." One who burns wood in the area of Daou Penteli, where According to Kathimerini, human identity is already known
"Greek governments traditionally find it convenient to blame speculators, arsonists, terrorists and even foreign agents," said former finance minister Yannis Varoufakis.
"Officials refrain from admitting their lack of preparation and their inability to adopt and enforce appropriate security laws and regulations," he added.
The article refers to the two resignation of deputy mayors in Marathon, the area most affected by the fires, who said that their conscience did not allow them to stay in their positions.
Mr. Stathopoulos agreed with his argument, Mr. Varoufakis, that austerity imposed on Greece also played a role in the authorities' inability to respond to the disaster, noting that cuts have rendered unnecessary at least 30% of fire trucks.
"About 15% of our fleet of 1,750 vehicles are off-road because they have chronic problems and they're old," he said.
"About 15% of the vehicles need spare parts that we can not stock up on.As firefighters, we take an oath to protect people and their belongings.We know when to propose the evacuation of the areas but for some reason our recommendation has not been heard.It is a great tragedy for the country and this is due to an apology, "concluded Mr. Stathopoulos.
The Guardian's Information
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