Volunteer firemen on the front line

A member of the Neos Voutzas Volunteer Fire Department, east of Athens, tracks the location of a fire truck during a blaze on the mountain of Penteli earlier this week. Volunteer firefighters across Attica – including teams in Penteli, Kapandriti, Afidnes and Rodopoli – assisted the firefighting effort under the guidance of the Fire Service. “You are not expecting a thank-you,” says 26-year-old volunteer Stamatis Damianoglou, who was injured in last summer’s wildfire in Vilia in the foothills of Mount Kythairon west of Athens. “You just know you have done your bit instead of just watching the fire on TV.” [Enri Canaj]