“If we are talking about arbitrariness and urban planning problems that made it difficult to evacuate residents, then what can be said about Kineta? And, despite all this, in Kinete on the same day all the inhabitants were evacuated. There was time and the necessary evacuation network,” he said. forensic expert Dimitris Liotsios, talking about the fateful day of July 23, 2018.
Liotsios, who appeared for the 13th time before a three-member Plenum hearing the case of 21 accused in the Mati tragedy, was interrogated yesterday by the then commander of the Joint Operations Coordination Center, Ioannis Fostieris, who is not represented by a lawyer.
The forensic expert, referring to what he heard about the complexity of the removal plan due to urban development problems in Mati, repeated, in response to a question from Mr. Fostieris, that the only difficult point in the area is Kokkino Limanaki: “The rest of the territory is straight, there are entrances and roads. There are no special problems with planning in this area: there are roads, elongated sections, access roads.If we say that about Mati, then what can we say about Kineta? And yet there was nothing in Kineta (no one was in danger). necessary evacuation network and time for evacuation of residents.
According to Liotsios, the first commander informed the ΕΣΚΕ (United Center for the Coordination of Fire Brigade Operations) of the danger in time, and therefore there was time to take action and prevent the tragic development that eventually happened. “Everyone was aware of everything, and this is confirmed by documents,” the expert told Mr. Fostieris, noting that they received notification from the chief both by phone and by radio. He also said that fire chiefs “begged for the involvement of ground and air forces.”
The fire chief reiterated the actions that were not taken that day and the critical importance of a timely and immediate response after the incident. He cited the lack of a ground firefighting force, the inability of the air force to respond immediately, and the inability to send reinforcements in a timely manner despite calls from the fire chiefs.
He also pointed out that the state apparatus was not brought to general readiness in a timely manner. The witness emphasized the absence of all but one of the air assets, which arrived only at 18:10 and 18:20, and the criticality of an immediate response in the midst of an incident that ended in destruction. “From 16:41 to 18:05, that is, in about an hour and a half, the fire covered a distance of 2.5 kilometers. Then, after the fire crossed Marathonos Avenue, it became more difficult to extinguish it,” the expert said, after which the accused, Nea Makri, then fire brigade commander, intervened, telling the president that visibility was poor: “Because of the windy weather, we couldn’t see.”
The witness even said emotionally at one point that it was wrong to say that the fire department was unable to do anything:
“Many of our colleagues sacrificed themselves for this cause. Nowhere is it written that we are not doing anything. How many of our colleagues died to save lives? The memorial to the fallen is full. We insult these heroes when we say that nothing was done.”
On the issue of aerial surveillance, which that day was carried out by Air Force planes because the CAA was not notified in time, Liotsos, during the interrogation of Mr. Fostieris, asked the former head of ESKE whether an attempt was made to conduct surveillance.
Ioannis Fostieris: Aircraft are designed for fire suppression, not surveillance.
Dimitris Liotsios: The forest plan says otherwise.
Ioannis Fostieris: The forest plan that you have signed refers to Attica, are you talking about Attica or all of Greece?
Dimitris Liotsios: I’m talking about Attica.
Dimitris Fostieris: We have three air vehicles (Cl).
Dimitris Llotsios: Why do you say three remedies? We have so many tools that could be used for surveillance.
Chairman: Are you saying that one of the helicopters could have been used for surveillance?
Dimitris Liotsios: Right!
Ioannis Fostieris: This is not true!
Dimitris Liotsios: Well, it will be judged by the court!
Ioannis Fostieris: With the data of Mr. Liotsios, we got out of reality… We have fire, and we are guided by rules and laws. We don’t do what we want!
Dimitris Liotsios: Laws are everywhere! But some things are done in excess.
Ioannis Fostieris: Airmobiles are not motorcycles. We shot an American film from a legal event. It takes 45-55 minutes to re-service, and 20 minutes to give the order to rise.
Dimitris Liotsios: There were options for the redeployment of helicopters from Attica.
Ioannis Fostieris: Can you tell us which airports we can transfer air assets to outside of Attica?
Dimitris Liotsios: Skyros, Andravida, where that day was the second level of danger.
At yesterday’s hearing, the fire brigade was called in to remove a newborn kitten, whose loud crying came from the adjoining ancillary area of the courtroom. The firefighters who arrived were unable to remove the animal, so the residents of Mati called animal welfare officers who were able to help him. The kitten was immediately adopted by the residents and named “Mati”. The trial has been adjourned…
Source: APE-MPA
PS Almost 5 years have passed since the day of the fire and the death of more than 100 people, but not only the perpetrators have not been identified, but, apparently, the investigation is moving further and further away from this. And the circus, meanwhile, continues. Today the kitten interfered, the reason, no doubt, is serious. Tomorrow something else will interfere, for example, a pimple on the nose of the judge. The judiciary is strongly resisting sentencing…
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