Firefighters were tested on a double front in Attica today, as two major fires broke out within hours of each other in Keratea and Stamata. The battle was difficult, since on the one hand the fire fronts were in residential areas that had to be evacuated, while the weather conditions were extreme and favoured the fires. In Stamata, one person died of a heart attack with indirect cause of the fire, while houses have been burnt or damaged both in Stamata and Keratea. At the same time, the fire brigade had to deal with the dispersal of its forces due to dozens of other fronts breaking out in parallel in many areas across the country: From Ritsona in Evia, where a chemical factory was burning, to Angelokastro in Etoloakarnania, Distomo, Kamilovrisi in Fthiotida, Loutraki, and even at Filippappou in downtown Athens!

Air assets played a key role in containing the fire fronts and so at about 9.30 in the evening there was no longer an active front in the area of Stamata, while almost simultaneously they had controlled the fire in Keratea, where earlier there had been a major resurgence in the area of Synterina.

In Keratea, the fire came to break into four fronts due to strong winds, messages were sent for evacuation of areas by the civil protection, while houses were burned in the settlements of Plaka and Markati. Strong firefighting forces and volunteers remain on alert for scattered outbreaks.