‘Neglect’ fueling more Attica fires
Attica has seen a large spike in forest fires this year, according to statistics made public yesterday by the fire service, which blamed inadequate measures by local authorities as well as the «occasionally criminal neglect and indifference» of the public for many recent blazes. During the period between June 26 and July 20 this year, a total of 102 fires broke out in forests and on hills around Attica. This compares to 311 fires in Attica in the whole of 2007. «If we continue at this rate, we will hit a five-year negative record for the incidence of forest fires,» a fire service spokesman said. He noted that there have been more fires in suburban forests, where arson is usually the suspected motive. The last few weeks have seen blazes break out on the leafy fringes of Vrilissia, Pendeli, Glyka Nera, Papagou and also at the foot of Mount Parnitha, which was badly scorched last year. But fires are increasingly starting on small hills and in parks too. The last month alone has seen fires on hills and in parks in Haidari, Galatsi, Tourkovounia, Filothei and just last week in Kaisariani. Fire service officials blamed this increase in fires on a number of factors, including the lack of measures taken by local authorities to avert blazes, this year’s exceptionally hot and dry weather and the «serious» neglect displayed be residents of Attica. Fire service officials said that they had intensified ground patrols of forestland borders and inspections from the air but that the carelessness of citizens was thwarting their efforts. «We are not seeing so many cases of intentional arson, but when we consider the dry conditions that have prevailed in recent weeks, these are cases of serious, criminal neglect and indifference,» Yiannis Kapakis, another fire service spokesman, told Kathimerini. According to Kapakis, some 80 percent of fires that break out in Attica are attributable to arson through neglect. Kapakis refused to comment on preventive action by local authorities. But another official, who requested anonymity, said «the absence of fire prevention measures is fertile ground for fires.»
