Mati fire compensation decision appealed by state
The state has lodged an appeal against the only, so far, court decision awarding compensation to relatives of victims of the deadly fire in Mati, East Attica, in 2018.
The court awarded 300,000 euros to five relatives of a 77-year-old woman from Neos Voutzas who burned to death as a result of errors and omissions of state services. The appeal, filed a few days ago, claimed, among others, that the fire was impossible to control.
More specifically, the appeal states that the court which awarded the compensation should have ordered an expert’s report to clarify certain matters, such as the “sudden shift in the weather,” and that it was impossible to fly water-dumping airplanes on the afternoon when the fire ripped through Mati.
It also claimed that the failure of the fire service to recommend the area’s evacuation did not lead to the fatalities, while stressing that “the fire brigade did not hesitate in the performance of its duties.”
Lawyers involved in the case said that this appeal is not a formality, aimed at simply preserving the state’s right to appeal and expecting a compromise (as has happened, for example, in the case of the murder of teenager Alexandros Grigoropoulos), but a move aimed at overturning the first instance ruling.
