2024-02-21 21:58:12
The Union of Employees of the Fire Department of Epirus is asking the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, to replace the seasonal firefighters and to strengthen the fire services of Epirus.
In her letter, which was communicated to the general secretary of Civil Protection, the chief of the Fire Brigade, the deputies and the regional governor of Epirus, the general inspector of Northern Greece, the coordinator of operations for Western Macedonia, Epirus and the Islands, as well as the regional commander of the Fire Services of Epirus, the shortages of seasonal firefighters in Epirus are highlighted, a problem exacerbated by the fact that the majority of those successful in the competition to strengthen the Special Unit of Forestry Operations (E.MO.DE.) come from seasonal firefighters, just as it had been and with the 1st series E.MO.DE.
“This has the result that many of the services of the Region of Epirus have been “empty” or at best have a meager number of seasonal firefighters”, he characteristically notes and points out that rural residents should not lose the sense of security provided by the Policy Protection. “The presence of a patrol vehicle or even its passage through a village, which is remote from the urban fabric, is important for their psychology as well as their safety. For this reason, we inform you of the problem and request the filling of the vacant positions of the seasonal colleagues, who are no longer in the services, as well as the reinforcement with even more colleagues”, notes the Union of Employees of the Epirus Fire Brigade, also citing the specifics of Region of Epirus, with inaccessible forests in the mountainous massif, wooded areas ending in beaches, which are flooded by thousands of bathers on a daily basis in the summer months, as well as the Greek-Albanian border.
“The weakening of the Region of Epirus from the successive transfers and the reduction of organizational positions is now a given. At the same time there has been no recruitment of personnel to really strengthen the Service’s shifts, and instead forces are constantly being moved as a precaution to other districts. Let everyone take their responsibilities,” the letter concludes.