The tragedy at Nea Anchialos was a lesson

It looks like a fire in the ammunition depot in the 111th Fighter Wing in Nea Anchialos became a serious lesson for the military, who began to take fire fighting measures much more seriously.

Due to major fires, all military installations in Alexandroupoli remain on high alert. The Italians and the British, who had their warehouses for unloading military equipment in the port of Alexandroupoli, were immediately put on alert, despite the fact that the fire had not even approached the port. The American military personnel, who have long settled in the Giannouli camp, are on vacation this summer, because there are no plans to unload American materials in the port these days.

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However, the Americans said they were ready, if asked, to help extinguish fires by helicopters from Stefanovikio, since for them Alexandroupoli is now one of the main US bases in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In addition, the safe navigation systems with three radars in the area, which are not currently threatened by fire, are on alert, but security measures are being taken for them. The main front of the fire passed in close proximity to the villages of Agnantia and Antea, and advanced north of the Alexandroupoli airport.

A very serious problem is the thick smoke that has reached the city of Alexandroupoli, so on August 22, by calling 112, a message was sent to residents asking them to stay in their homes with doors and windows closed.

But what about the Air Force fire planes? A total of 14 aircraft and four helicopters are reported to be operating from the air, including one coordinator aircraft. At the same time, due to damage and lack of spare parts, at least 7 aircraft are at the airport waiting, as residents say, for spare parts.

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At some point, when the fire was approaching the location of the 12th Medium Armored Division (12th SBD) at the Chrysomallidi military base in Doriskos Evros, where tanks with heavy weapons are stationed, the exact opposite of what happened in 111 th combat wing at Nea Anchialos, which saved lives and ammunition.

On Monday night, a wall of fire literally swept past two camps in Avada and Palagia, where ammunition depots were located. If the fire came close to the warehouses, then the whole area would fly into the air. The fact that the ammunition was not damaged and we did not have new Anchialos is due to the fact that from the very beginning fire lines of demarcation were drawn.

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The fire was constantly faced (in addition to firefighters) by the so-called “land surveyors”, as they are officially called in the army, bulldozer drivers of engineering units, who immediately set to work. Within minutes, they created a firebreak that stopped the fire.

And while everyone was congratulating the “land surveyors” who opened the firebreaks (40 meters wide) around the six camps of Alexandroupoli in time, they remembered that in the conclusion about the explosion of ammunition in Nea Anchialos, the main reason for the spread of fire to the ammunition depot (but not penetration inside) was that the grass around the warehouse was not cut.

This time, Anchialos was a lesson for the military, and being ready to evacuate the camp if necessary, remove tanks and ammunition, they first of all thought about how to stop the fire by creating huge fire breaks.

And so far they are succeeding, and so much so that the local authorities not only congratulated the “defenders of the earth”, but also recognized that in many cases their actions were decisive in preventing the spread of fire. Despite the fact that the wind around the camps and throughout the Alexandroupoli area was very strong, in gusts reaching 8 on the Beaufort scale.

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Military units to this day remain safe enough that firefighters are given rest and sleep. Although some of the officers are blamed for the Nea Anchialos munitions explosion, so far no punishment has followed, except for the removal from command of a unit of the colonel, commander of the 111th combat wing.

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In conclusion, it is worth paying tribute to the new Minister of Defense Nikos Dendias and especially his deputy Nikos Hardalias for the fact that the control checks carried out in the wake of the fire in Nea Anchilaos were able to put the leadership of the military units in the proper mood and condition, which allowed them to withstand the test of the largest fire in the history of Evros with honor.

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