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With the advent of summer in Greece, the season of fires inevitably begins. They are far more dangerous than the strikes and uncontrolled protests, known in these lands. This year, the first fires broke out on the islands of Zakynthos and Corfu. The fires in Zakynthos occurred in two places because of high temperatures and are currently under partial control, reported Naftemporiki. 26 firefighters, 12 fire engines, and 18 people additionally are operating on the spot. A fire broke in Corfu this morning too in the forest region of Apraos, and according to the information, the situation is under control.

Meanwhile, the media reported that a fire broke out at night in the warehouse of NATO in the region of Aspropyrgos in Attica, which stored car spare parts and tires. 36 firefighters with 12 fire trucks have come to the spot. The fire was extinguished quickly, but the warehouse burnt to the ground. A fire broke out overnight in a residential building in close proximity to the capital in the region of Kolonos too. The flames started in a furniture shop located on the ground floor of a residential building. The firefighters took out of the building eleven people and the cause of the fire is currently being investigated.

For now, the fires of summer 2011 did not take casualties. The Ministry for Citizens Protection decided to recruit about four thousand full-time firefighters on fixed-term contracts for five years to enhance the fire services in the country. Until last year, the main firefighting labour forces consisted of seasonal workers hired between April and November each year. The recruitment of firefighters should meet the needs of the country of firefighters, which until last year operated on the base of hiring eight seasonal workers per one permanent firefighter.

The appointments will be made after a competition and the basic requirements are the firefighters not to exceed 45 years of age, have completed secondary education and to have performed military service. In addition, those who worked in the fire season in 2008-2010 or 2000-2007 will get extra points.

According to the website of WWF-Greece, there are many reasons why the Greek forests are vulnerable to fires. Some of them are due to the long hot and dry summer, the mild winter typical for the Mediterranean climate, but also to the strong winds and the dry and flammable vegetation around the forest. Adding to these factors the intensive human activity, poor forest management and the popular belief that the protection against forest fires is the same as fighting fires, explains why the number of fires in the last decade is increasing. Significantly, in the 1990s, about 500,000 hectares of forest area burnt on the average but the total burnt area has exceeded 2.5 million acres only in the summer of 2007, environmentalists explain.