Salamina: damage-assessment teams after fire

Teams from the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection are starting on-site inspections in Salamina to record the damage caused by the deadly fire, while Deputy Minister Kostas Katsafados is traveling to the island to assess the damage and the compensation process. The toll remains two dead, aged 91 and 72, and ten injured, who suffered mainly burns without their lives being in danger. The names of the two people who lost their lives are not published by TodayGrid. The inspections are the first formal step toward recording the scale of the destruction to homes and property and triggering the support procedures that have been provided for.

His experience was described publicly by a local resident, choreographer Angelos Chatzis, whose house in Peristeria burned down. According to his own account, the fire started at a lot full of rubbish on Andromachis Street, with the call to the Fire Service made at 14:43, while a second front broke out at Kaki Vigla in Selinia at 15:03, possibly caused by a vehicle fault. This information is attributed to him and does not constitute an official finding: the causes of both fronts are being investigated by the competent authorities and have not been confirmed. The timing of the calls and the sequence of the fronts are, however, details typically examined during an investigation.

For Salamina, recording the damage is the point at which the next day is practically decided. The inspection determines whether each home is classified as affected and, by extension, whether its owners can access the support measures to be announced. The island has dense single-family housing in areas adjoining uncultivated land and empty lots, a feature that makes it vulnerable to mixed-zone fires, like other areas of western Attica. Access for crews and services itself depends on the sea connection, a factor that burdens every phase of recovery, from transporting materials to the presence of power-grid repair crews.

The coming period will be shaped by three parallel strands: completion of the inspections, the announcement of compensation measures, and the progress of the investigation into the causes. The number of homes destroyed outright has not been announced, nor has a timetable for affected residents to submit applications. It is also not yet known whether the area will be declared in a state of emergency, or for how long. Residents who suffered damage are urged to follow announcements from the municipality and civil protection for the points and deadlines for registering damage. TodayGrid will return with the final damage toll and with the measures announced for those affected in Salamina.

Update 20:20: After the meeting at Salamina Town Hall, Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Kostas Katsafados announced that from the morning of Tuesday, 18 August, teams from the General Secretariat for Natural Disaster Recovery will carry out inspections and issue certificates, so residents can submit applications for the first household-equipment and basic-needs benefits. After one month they will also be able to apply for assistance to repair or rebuild buildings. According to the municipality’s initial estimate, the damage concerns around fifteen properties, that is, fifteen homes and one business. Salamina Mayor Giorgos Panagopoulos said more than 500 people were evacuated by sea, with the municipality operating a ferry boat at the Faneromeni crossing and buses to the town hall. He noted that the island, covering 100 square kilometers, has more than 10,000 undeveloped lots and that not everyone clears their lots as required, while registered residents number 37,000 and the summer population reaches 300,000. The toll remains at two dead and ten injured.