site.btaBulgarian Firefighters to Assist Greece within EU Civil Protection Mechanism

Bulgarian firefighters leave for Greece on Wednesday to help their colleagues in the fight against fires, the Interior Ministry said. Bulgaria's module for ground extinguishing of forest fires with vehicles will join the efforts with 51 firefighters and 11 units of equipment. The assistance is within the framework of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which Greece has activated.

The module is composed of firefighters from the General Directorate Fire Safety and Civil Protection, the Sofia Directorate and the Regional Directorates for Fire Safety and Civil Protection in Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Plovdiv, and Sliven. 

On Tuesday, AP reported that hundreds of firefighters and volunteers in southern Greece were battling for a third day a major forest fire near the town of Corinth, which has claimed two lives and devastated a vast forested area. The fire service in the area said more than 400 firefighters, assisted by 20 water-spraying aircraft, were engaged in the blaze in the mountains of Corinthia.