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A Greek at the age of 24 has confessed for 14 intentional fires and is currently facing the prosecution on the island of Chios to testify. After an investigation, the police arrested him on Sunday as the chief suspect for the arsons, which torched more than 140 thousand acres of farmland and forests in less than a week. The blaze has irreversibly damaged the ecosystem of the island and the economic situation of the population, for which the resin of mastic tree is a major source of revenue.

The young man stated that the main reason for the arsons was that he had not been admitted in the fire department ranks, Sky radio reported. His dream was to become a fireman like his father, who specializes in fighting forest fires and has a five-year contract with the fire department. The department did not admit the pyromaniac in its ranks and as a result, he decided to burn the northern part of the island. Three of the 14 fires, for which the defendant has confessed, were burned in 2011. Although he took responsibility for the arson in the northern part of the island, the detainee was adamant he was not responsible for the fire that broke out in the south of Chios. According to information from the firemen, who fought the blaze on Chios, the young man was a volunteer and had always shown courage and desire to extinguish the outbreaks. His confession to arson surprised the firemen.

The service investigating arsons has made a breakthrough in the investigation of the fire, which broke out on the island of Zakynthos on 23 August. They arrested a 61-year old man of Greek descent for it and brought him before a prosecutor. A court decision released him on probation. Investigations of the fires on Chios and Zakynthos continue with the cooperation of local authorities and the service investigating arsons. Police have arrested 250 persons on charges of arson so far this summer. 26 of them were charged with intentional damage and 224 of the fires were caused accidentally.
 
The fire department announced on Monday the fifth degree of fire hazard in the regions of Halkidiki, Thessaloniki, Magnesia (Volos, Zagora, western and northern Pilios) Sporades, Larissa and Evria. The fifth degree applies to areas with the greatest risk of fire and specialists take into account the temperature, the strength of the winds and the general condition of the area. The fourth degree of danger of fires applies to almost all of the rest of Greece, the risk of fires being the highest in the areas around Attica, central and eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the entire western part of Greece, Thessaly, Ipiros, Peloponnese, Limnos and Saint Eustratius.

A new fire near Metamorfosi, in the municipality of Pylos, broke out shortly before 2 pm. Two specialized aircraft, 9 water tankers, 17 fire engines and land forces are available to the fire forces in extinguishing the new outbreak. Mainly forest areas are burning at present. Another problem area on Monday turned out to be western Greek Macedonia, where three active outbreaks have been burning since Sunday evening. The one near Skopos, Florina was the result of a fire that started in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the other two fires are in the areas Dasilios and Feli. There is no risk for the settlements.

To be  continued