The 76-year-old patient accused of deliberately setting fire to his hospital bed mattress in the First Internal Medicine Ward of Sismanoglio Hospital reportedly said “sorry” for his actions, causing major disruption in the early morning hours. The fire broke out shortly before 5:00 a.m. in a ward housing three patients and was detected by the on-duty nursing staff. The flames destroyed the ward area, while hospital staff initially attempted to contain the blaze using fire extinguishers before firefighting units arrived.
Three wards were evacuated. During a headcount, staff discovered that one patient was missing. Motorcycle officers from the DIAS rapid response unit searched three different addresses for the 76-year-old man, eventually locating him at an apartment building in Nea Philadelphia.
Sismanoglio: What the 76-year-old claimed
“I took my lighter and set fire to the mattress. I did it because I was feeling stressed. I apologize. I regret what I did,” said the 76-year-old, who stands accused of starting the fire on the middle bed’s mattress. Although he left the hospital following the incident, he was ultimately arrested.
PAGNI Hospital: Fire in elevator — “The fire suppression system was connected to… the toilet cisterns”
Alarm also spread at the University Hospital of Heraklion (PAGNI), when a fire broke out in an elevator at the Pulmonology Ward. The ward’s director managed to contain the flames using a single fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived — as employees allege, the fire safety system failed to activate.
“It has been proven that it makes no sense to have the fire safety and suppression system connected to the toilet cisterns. If that’s even true…” said Dimitris Vrysalis, President of the PAGNI Workers’ Union.
