Gerakas: fire in low vegetation, 112 alert sounded

A fire in low vegetation broke out at midday on Wednesday 19 August in an area between Gerakas and Anthousa, near the cemetery and next to the Attiki Odos motorway. According to an announcement by the Fire Service, relayed by the news outlet Lawandorder.gr, 46 firefighters are taking part in the effort to put it out, with three foot patrol teams of the 1st Special Forest Operations Unit, volunteer firefighters and nine vehicles. Two aircraft and two helicopters are operating from the air, while assistance was requested from water tankers belonging to the local authorities of the area. “Fire in low vegetation, in the area of Gerakas, Attica. 46 firefighters have been mobilised,” the Fire Service said in its post on the incident.

Shortly before 16:00 a message was sent from the European Emergency Number 112 to residents of Anthousa, calling on them to remain on alert and to follow the instructions of the authorities. That message does not constitute an evacuation order but a warning, so that residents are ready for possible removal should the fire front move in their direction. The 112 system is activated by the General Secretariat for Civil Protection following a recommendation from the Fire Service and is geographically targeted, reaching only devices located within the affected zone. The message is sent simultaneously in Greek and English, so that it also covers visitors in the area.

The location of the fire is of particular significance, since the area between Gerakas and Anthousa borders densely populated neighbourhoods and lies in the immediate vicinity of the Attiki Odos. Fires next to motorways create a double problem: on the one hand smoke drastically reduces drivers’ visibility, on the other firefighting forces need access at a point where parking vehicles is difficult. Eastern Attica has been hit repeatedly by fires this summer, with recent examples being the fire at Karelas, Koropi and the fire in low vegetation at Argithea. Gerakas and Anthousa belong to the Municipality of Pallini and have seen intense residential development in recent decades, with homes abutting undeveloped land covered in dry grass.

At the time the announcement was made public the operation was under way and no containment of the front had been announced. No injuries, damage to homes or interruption of traffic on the Attiki Odos have been reported. Nor has it become known what caused the fire, a question that is as a rule investigated by the Arson Crime Directorate after the blaze is put out. The risk index for Attica had been set in the medium category for the Wednesday, while for Thursday 20 August a high fire risk is forecast for Attica and Kythira, according to the forecast map of the General Secretariat for Civil Protection.

Update 20:30: The fire was brought under control, according to the Fire Service, which announced that “the fire at Gerakas has been brought under control”. The Service’s Operations Centre had been notified at around 15:30 and the front was contained within fifteen minutes. Some 46 firefighters, three foot patrol teams of the 1st ΕΜΟΔΕ and nine vehicles were mobilised to put out the blaze. Roughly 0.3 hectares of low vegetation burned near the Gerakas cemetery, at a spot adjoining the Attiki Odos and lying beneath ΔΕΔΔΗΕ pylons, with no homes threatened. It should be noted that several media outlets, as well as the 112 message, refer to the area as “Anthousa”, while the Fire Service identifies it as “Gerakas”: it is the same incident, in adjoining settlements of the Municipality of Pallini.