Firefighters tackle blaze as high risk warning issued
Firefighters were called to tackle a house fire in the Aghia Marina area of Nea Makri in eastern Attica on Wednesday morning, with the authorities warning of a high risk of fire in Attica, southern Evia and some northern Aegean islands.
Nine firefighters, three tenders and a helicopter were involved in the operation to extinguish the blaze, which spread to low vegetation.
In the last 24 hours, the fire service said it dealt with 62 urban fires and 15 forest fires and was called out to assist in 41 incidents.
Issuing its second highest fire alert for some regions, the Interior Ministry’s General Secretariat for Civil Protection instructed all state services, as well as municipal and regional authorities, to be on high alert. As a preventative measure, vehicles are prohibited from roads going through certain parks, forests and other areas deemed vulnerable to fire in the municipalities of Marathon, Pallini, Rafina-Pikermi and Spata-Artemida. The ban runs until 7 a.m. Thursday.
The secretariat calls on citizens to avoid any activities that could cause a fire, such as burning dry grass and branches, throwing cigarettes, cooking barbeques or using machinery that produces sparks.
In the event of a fire, citizens are requested to immediately inform the fire service by calling 199.
Last month, fires killed at least 91 people in eastern Attica.
