The strategy for dealing with fires is changing this summer, as the war in Ukraine also affects the planning of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection. 

According to the firefighting plan, the use of fire retardant agents in extensive fires will be introduced this year. The said agents are estimated to be a substantial tool in slowing down fires in order to be dealt with more effectively by ground forces. 

According to information from APA MPA, this summer the cost for the firefighting period is expected to increase by 35% due to the effects of the war in Ukraine, the issue of energy and transport, the competition that has arisen, and the exclusion of Russian and Ukrainian personnel from aircraft and helicopter crews. 

However, the air force assets will be more in number this year, despite the fact that the Russian Beriev Be-200 will not be available to the fire service, due to the EU sanctions on Russia. The aircraft fleet will be reinforced with additional small, flexible, and more efficient aircraft, especially of the Air-Tractor type.

It is recalled that last year 6 Air-Tractors were used as part of a pilot program, and they are estimated to have been effective, so this year twice as many will be at the disposal of the state mechanism.

As for the retardant agent, it will be at the disposal of the aerial forest fire extinguishing means in order to slow down the spread of fires. As we already know, this is a red liquid that has previously been used by C-130 military aircraft during firefighting operations, but its use was relatively limited. 

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According to circles of the Ministry of Climate Crisis, the fire retardant agent that is to be used on a larger scale as of this year will be certified and environmentally friendly. It is noted that, according to ministry circles, it is widely used in France. 

The information states that the agent will be dropped mainly by Air-Tractor aircraft, but it has not been clarified yet whether military C-130s will be used for this purpose as in the past.

An innovative aspect of the firefighting period is the operational plan itself that supports the planning of the Civil Protection, as for the first time this year it is based on studies on the area terrain. In this way, the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection seeks to implement the prevention-preparation / preparedness-resilience model with the contribution of the scientific community and researchers for the effective response to fires. 

In this context, after 24 years, the forest service will closely collaborate with the Fire Service once again, whereas the army that will participate in the forest patrols will now be mobilized on a regular basis.

What needs to be made clear, however, is the role of firefighters during fires, as has the Ministry’s political leadership repeatedly stated that “it is the firefighters who put out the fires”. Based on this, special emphasis is placed on the work of the ground firefighting forces and the need not to underestimate this, as, according to Ministry circles, “regardless of the air means, the firefighters themselves are the ones who will eventually put out the fires”.

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In addition, it is reminded that early this week, the training of 500 forest commandos, that is, firefighters of the Special Units of Forest Operations, has started in the 6 Special Services that have been established with headquarters in Elefsina, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Lamia, Ioannina, and Patras.

Their term will last seven years. Out of these 500 firefighters, 440 are firefighting technical personnel and 60 firefighting scientific personnel specializing in forestry.

This special team will work in the forests, in collaboration with the foresters and their scientific support, who will not only act in times of crisis but throughout the year. Their mission will be to assist in forest protection operations by preventing fires, while they will be the vanguard in the forests supporting all firefighting operations, as they will be transported by helicopter and will descend right at the fire scene. 

It is reminded that the forest commandos will be trained in “backfire”, that is, in fire fighting using fire, which was recently instituted by the Ministry as a firefighting method. In addition, forest commandos will be involved in dealing with the consequences of natural, technological, and other disasters.

It is noted that the full planning of the firefighting season will be presented on Tuesday, May 17 at a press conference to be held at the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection and will be attended by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Christos Stylianidis, the Minister of Culture and Sport, Lina Mendoni, the Deputy Minister of Environment, George Amyras, and the Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Evangelos Tournas. 

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