The evacuation of residents and vacationers from the villages of Siviri and Fourka in Chalkidiki toward Sani is in full swing, where a major fire that broke out at 2 p.m. is raging.
At Fourka Beach, a speedboat and a ship from the Fire Department, as well as three vessels from the Port Authority—the Greek Coast Guard—and many private boats are on the scene. In addition, the vessel SPEED RUNNER JET has approached Siviri Bay to transport people. Greek Police (ELAS) forces have been mobilized to manage traffic.
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“The evacuation of people by sea is currently underway, to ensure they are not endangered either by the fire itself or by the smoke emitted by this extremely severe fire,” Deputy Fire Department Spokesperson, Deputy Fire Chief Ioannis Artopios, told ERT, adding that “we wanted every possible assistance to be provided, both from the fire area and from the sea, to ensure that no one is put at risk.”
He also reported that “in the last half hour, two minor injuries among firefighters have been reported — one has suffered a leg injury and the other felt unwell, and they are being transported to hospitals to receive first aid,” while “no civilian injuries have been reported.”
“What we observed from the very beginning was the behavior of this fire as it spread down from Kassandra in Chalkidiki toward Siviri,” noted Mr. Artopios, explaining that for this reason, 112 issued alerts very early on calling on the residents of Siviri and Fourka to evacuate the areas.
Regarding the ongoing evacuation by sea, Mr. Artopios noted that “we would like those who have not yet left to be safely evacuated from the area,” adding that vessels from the Fire Department and the Coast Guard “have been deployed to the area to transport people to safe locations.”
Referring to the progress of the firefighting operation, the Fire Department spokesperson clarified that “the fire has gained significant momentum” and that firefighting forces are being reinforced “with forest firefighting teams from both Elefsina—who will be flown in by the first specialized forest operations unit from Elefsina— as well as from Thessaloniki with additional forest firefighting teams from Alexandroupoli, Kozani, Volos, and Kavala.”
The fire, he added, “is very close to the residential areas along the coastal strip, Siviri, and Fourka Beach.”
“This is a difficult operation, and at this time we are asking citizens to cooperate by evacuating safely so that there are no problems. So far, no injuries have been reported other than those of our two firefighters, my two colleagues. “From what we have been told, there is also property damage, but at this moment, the priority is rescue operations and extinguishing the fire,” he noted.
Charalambos Stergiadis, Head of the Independent Directorate of Civil Protection for the Region of Central Macedonia, stated that there is a massive mobilization effort by both the region and the municipalities to create firebreaks. “We have dispatched a large number of construction vehicles, as well as heavy earth-moving equipment, to assist in the effort—including from the flyover—along with forestry cooperatives working in collaboration with the Forest Service, so that firebreaks can be opened up in the area.”
He announced that an emergency meeting will be held after 7 p.m. to assess the situation, so that if it is not possible for those who were evacuated from the affected areas to return, arrangements can be made for their overnight accommodation.
On the ground, 148 firefighters continue to operate alongside 4 foot patrol teams from the 2nd EMODE and 54 vehicles (including 12 firefighters with 3 vehicles from Moldova, who are in our country as part of the European firefighters’ pre-deployment program).
Nine aircraft and seven helicopters have been deployed for aerial firefighting and are operating periodically, one of which is dedicated to coordinating their efforts. Water tankers and construction equipment from the Municipality of Kassandra are assisting in the operation. Additionally, two pieces of construction equipment have been deployed by the Directorate of Construction and Natural Disaster Response (DIKAFKA). The Deputy Chief of the Fire Department is coordinating the response. In addition, 20 firefighters from the 1st EMODE and 20 firefighters from the 2nd EMODE have been mobilized; they will travel by air from Elefsina on a C-27, while 7 firefighters from the 5th EMODE (Ioannina), 6 firefighters from the 7th EMODE (Alexandroupoli), 6 firefighters from the 8th EMODE (Kozani), 7 firefighters from the 10th EMODE (Volos), and 6 firefighters from the 21st EMODE (Kavala)
