Fire breaks out near monastery in east Attica

Firefighters were dispatched to the village of Neos Voutzas, east of Athens, on Wednesday after a fire broke out in dry brush near a monastery that is also home to an orphanage. 

According to the fire service, the blaze does not pose a threat to any homes or other buildings in the area so far, but six firetrucks, as well as volunteers and municipal water trucks have been dispatched to contain the blaze.

Neos Voutzas was the starting point of a deadly 2018 fire that claimed more than 100 lives in eastern Attica. It also badly damaged the monastery that houses the Lyreio Foundation orphanage.