In a point-by-point attempt to deconstruct the criticism of the opposition parties for their handling of the extinguishing of the major fire in Northeast Attica, in a post on Facebook, the Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman, Pavlos Marinakis,. 

After thanking all those involved in the effort to extinguish the fires and expressing his condolences for the death of a woman yesterday, Μr. Marinakis reiterates that "the primary objective is the immediate recording of the damage suffered by citizens and businesses and their rapid restoration and support."

Then the government spokesman insists that, regarding the fire, which started last Sunday afternoon in Varnavas, Attica, "the state mechanism was in the field with all its forces" and that "only yesterday, 36 air assets were operating to deal with the fire in North-East Attica," while he also defends the priority given to preventive evacuations of threatened areas, citing the bitter experience of the deadly fire in Mati 6 years ago.

MARINAKIS MAIN POINTS

"I would also like to respond to some of the accusations that have been heard in the last 24 hours, which are either well-meaning criticism of citizens who were struggling or the usual attempt to instrumentalise a natural disaster by the opposition.

1. Despite the fact that drought and extended heat waves that encourage the occurrence of fires worsen climatic conditions, the government has made civil protection a top priority with noticeable results. The Fire Brigade since May 1 to date has dealt with 3,543 starts of agroforestry fires, while in the exact same period last year it dealt with 2,344 starts of fires, i.e. 50% more in 2024 than in 2023 in the same period. The same civil protection system, which some were quick to criticize within hours, dealt with all of these fires successfully. The Varnavas fire occurred on a level 5 extreme risk day, which is found on very few days each fire season, and this means that if a fire does occur, it is extremely difficult to contain. It is worth noting that in less than two days, there were 27 simultaneous outbreaks in an area of less than 50 kilometres. Climate conditions have created a reality to which we are adapting our action on a daily basis.
2. The state apparatus was in the field with all its forces. In addition to the Fire Brigade, which operated incessantly on the fronts and in the hot spots, members of the ELAS proceeded to extricate hundreds of civilians in danger inside residential areas. Forestry services, municipalities, the region, and civil protection agencies assisted with personnel and vehicles and coordinated volunteers who made their best efforts to protect property and care for animals. This year, we have 17,500 firefighters, more than ever before, and, in addition, another 700 forest firefighters have been recruited and the number of "forest firefighters" units increased from 6 to 16. According to the latest Eurostat data, Greece is in first place in the European Union in terms of the number of firefighters in proportion to its population and in second place in terms of expenditure on fire protection as a percentage of the regular budget. In addition, for the first time, so many aerial resources are operating, as this year we have 89 aerial resources at our disposal compared to 61 in 2019.
3. The most disheartening "criticism" one could make or imply is the one regarding evacuations of areas in distress. Indeed, unfortunately, many opposition representatives use a tool such as 112, which has proven how valuable it is to "attack" the government or the prime minister. They probably forget that 6 years ago, 104 people were burned alive in a residential area. "The recommendation for an organized preventive evacuation would help the citizens with the upcoming danger," said the prosecutor of the court at the hearing of the Mati case. Within 3 months after the 2019 elections, the 112 information system was put into pilot operation, and shortly afterwards a permanent mechanism was created, which to date is the most important achievement for the protection of human life in the country. The evacuations worked and helped both the safety of citizens and the work of the authorities in the unprecedented fire in Attica the day before yesterday.
4. Before all the operations to extinguish the most dangerous fire of this year's fire season could be completed, SYRIZA was quick to issue another false statement about the air assets operating at the front. What is most infuriating, however, is that it was SYRIZA that two weeks ago voted against the assistance of the Armed Forces in cases of natural disasters in Parliament.
5. A huge amount of attention has been paid to the field of prevention, with concrete measures and initiatives. The Antinero program for forest protection has a budget of 321 million euros from the Recovery Fund. The AEGIS program, 55% of which is being implemented by the Hellenic Fund, has either already been contracted or is in the process of being signed with final contractors. The land clearances, which for the first time have been carried out on such a large scale, are a given that we will insist on even more. In the municipalities of north-east Attica alone, we had 83,243 plots cleaned, which is 10% of the total number of clean-ups, which limited the scale of the disaster to a certain extent. At the same time, 25 drones monitor, 24 hours a day, the mountainous areas of Attica, forests, and semi-urban areas, as well as helicopters carrying out loaded patrols. This was, moreover, the reason why the first aerial vehicle carried out the first water drop on the Varnavas fire, 5 minutes after it broke out, with the hiking units arriving within 10 minutes. This does not mean that fires can be eliminated; even countries like the USA, Canada, or Australia are affected by megafires. The effort continues, with a greater emphasis on the prevention front, but it is a given that mechanisms and institutions must—and continue to—constantly improve.
6. The government has tightened up the Criminal Code, with the penalties being more severe, even for negligent fires. In fact, arson that leads to loss of life is punishable by life imprisonment and forest arson, if it leads to ecological destruction, is now a felony and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a 200,000 euro fine. All sentences involving forest arson are now served in prison and are not suspended or commuted in any way, nor does the exercise of the appeal remedy have a suspensive effect on the offender's sentence".