“I am here to testify in court because 104 people have died. It was possible to order an evacuation. Rescue could be carried out with the help of duduks, just like that: for firefighters to enter the settlement, and people leave, ”testified fireman Yannis Kostas, who, among other things, was called upon to control the fire that consumed the village. Eye leaving behind a hundred thousand dead.

The then commander of the 12th regiment P.S. Athens Deputy Fire Chief Ioannis Kostas testified about the fire on July 23, 2018 in East Attica and what was not done, resulting in a manageable fire causing one of the greatest tragedies.

The witness told the court that he, like the forensic expert, prosecutor Dimitris Liotsios, was sued by the defendant with the aim, as he pointed out, “to frighten us and undermine our credibility in court”.

According to the officer, the lack of air support actually contributed to the spread of the fire: “If three or four aircraft had arrived before half past five, the fire would not even have reached Wuji,” he noted.

At the same time, the officer stated that since yesterday, all elements of the danger were aware of his service and “so we had to,” he said, “staff at our station on high alert.”

Describing minute by minute the situation he had to face, Mr. Kostas testified that after the fire in Kineta he was asked and provided with observation and patrol vehicles, which he took care to replace in time.

“On that day, in the morning, I saw that there was no air for preventive aerial reconnaissance due to the high degree of danger. Can an aircraft detect smoke and strike at the source of fire so that it does not become uncontrollable … ”he emphasized, saying that he desperately asked for an aircraft to help the fire. “Center, we need ground troops and air support. The fire is in the area of ​​the houses and goes up the mountain,” the message says. “Damn,” as he commented.

A witness’ description in court of those first moments testifies to omissions that cost lives: “At that time I had eight volunteer cars and one with a constant fire volume of only five hundred liters. At 17:07 I called and said that we had a problem and needed reinforcements. At 17:11 aircraft approached and fired a shot, and we cheered up, because the fire, as we say in our language, was “sitting” and we believed that we would contain it. As other aircraft approached. Unfortunately they didn’t come.! At 17:20 the fire entered the Pantokrator monastery in Dau. By 17:30 the fire had become uncontrollable. There were no antennas. Madam President, the antenna has arrived. He didn’t show up again. If three or four antennas had arrived by half past six, the fire would not have reached Vujas. The fire was going on, but it was not uncontrolled, ”said the officer who remained at the front until the evening of the next day.

The witness said, causing a sensation in court, that when he searched for data to compile a fire report, he discovered that there were inaccurate data in the Engage system., software that records the location and movement of fire department vehicles. According to Mr. Kostas, he competently stated that the prosecutor should also be aware of existing inaccuracies. However, the prosecutor, as the officer testified, was not informed by his superiors, and therefore “for me it was a one-way street: I reported this to the prosecutor and Liozio.”

Source: RES-IPE