Night of fear for residents of Vari, Voula after raging fire causes major damage

Residents of the areas of Vari and Voula will be in a state of emergency all night as a fire that raged for over eight hours throughout the day and into the night and appears to be receding.

It destroyed four homes in Voula and damaged about 20 houses. Automobiles also went up in flames.

The blaze began in the Pournari area of Glyfada, a southern suburb of Athens, which extends from the Saronic Gulf to the foot of Mount Hymettus, where the fire raged.

Due to strong winds, the fire spread to the Panormos area of the posh suburb of Voula and to Vari.

According to the mayor of Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, Grigoris Konstantellos, the fire appeared to be receding after 22:00, but the Fire Service will be on alert all night in case there is a resurgence in any of the fire-stricken areas.

Four settlements in the region hit by the fire were evacuated. Civil protection authorities have permitted residents of Panorama in Voula and three of the four communities to return to their homes.

Residents of the Heroma area of Vari, where the fire front is still active, face an emergency situation and are in for a long night.

Over 50 children, 25 staff members, and ten single-parent families from Ukraine were evacuated from the Children’s Village SOS foster care facility in Vari as a precautionary measure in the early evening, and were later allowed to return.

About 100 residents of the «Axios Odigos» (worthy guide) senior citizens’ home were also evacuated for precautionary reasons.

Nevertheless, in the entire region the Fire Service remains in a state of red alert, with 172 firefighters, 56 fire trucks, and five divisions on the ground.

In addition, Greek Police has contributed 150 policemen and 48 vehicles to assist in the efforts to manage the crisis.
Journalists from in.gr who were at the scene with television cameras reported that many residents did not want to evacuate the area, and they participated in efforts to extinguish the fire, assisting firefighters and volunteers.

Where the blaze began, DEDDIE denies responsibility

The mayor of Glyfada, Yorgos Papanikolaou, told SKAI television that the fire began at a sub-station of the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE) at the foot of Mount Hymettus.

As a consequence, there have been power outages in the broader area.

DEDDIE maintains that until now there is no indication that the fire in Ano Glyfada, which spread to the Panorama area in Voula, was sparked by one of its sub-stations.

However, it did not rule out the possibility that once the fire broke out there may have an explosion or cables may have fallen to the ground, and it confirmed that there have been power outages.