Attica governor denies responsibility for deadly fires
Attica Regional Governor Rena Dourou has submitted a written statement to prosecutors investigating this summer's deadly east Attica wildfires, in which she claims no responsibility for the magnitude of the destruction and the massive loss of life.
The regional authority, she said in her statement, is not responsible for “putting out fires or carrying out evacuations without the recommendation of the Fire Service.”
Dourou is among several officials being investigated as part of a larger probe into the failure of authorities to prevent the death of 99 people in east Attica in July as a result of a wildfire that started on the slopes of Mount Penteli and swept through the seaside town of Mati, where the fatalities were concentrated.
In her lengthy statement, which was submitted to investigators by her legal counsel, Dourou claims that the task of fighting fires is not in the purview of local government, whose responsibility is limited to providing logistical support if the Fire Service asks for it.
