On the front lines of wildfires, working alongside permanent Fire Service personnel, seasonal firefighters fight their own battle at the fire fronts every fire season. Against the backdrop of the recent tragedy in which three firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty — among them one seasonal firefighter — the message they are sending is clear: under today’s conditions, no one is expendable on the front line.
Read also: Controversy over the recruitment announcement for 600 firefighters: The age limit that excludes 1,900 seasonal workers — “This is age discrimination”
As firefighting forces are being tested by successive and demanding fronts, seasonal firefighters are once again raising the question of their future within the Fire Service — and are now moving toward organized action. Specifically, a protest demonstration has been scheduled for August 31st, with the central demand being that solutions are found to issues which, they argue, have remained unresolved for years.
Speaking to parapolitika.gr, the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Private Law Fire Service Employees, Thanos Psaropoulos, placed at the center of the discussion the need to make use of seasonal firefighters’ experience and to provide a clear outlook for their future.
Seasonal firefighters: First mobilization set for August 31st
The Panhellenic Federation of Private Law Fire Service Employees has already announced that it is entering a period of mobilizations, citing the exhaustion of seasonal firefighters’ patience. The first move comes on August 31st, when the Panhellenic Association of Contract Firefighters (PA.S.SY.P.), a primary member union of the Federation, has called a protest demonstration. The Federation is backing the mobilization and is calling on all seasonal firefighters to participate, emphasizing that the demands concern their future within the Fire Service as a whole.
“The participation of everyone sends a message of unity, dignity, and determination. Our demands do not concern a few — they concern the future of all seasonal firefighters,” the Federation stated.
The thorny issue of age limits — around 2,000 seasonal firefighters excluded
The central demand of seasonal firefighters remains the issue of age restrictions in Fire Service recruitment announcements. According to Mr. Psaropoulos, approximately 2,000 out of 2,500 seasonal firefighters were excluded from the most recent relevant announcement due to age.
For seasonal firefighters, this issue represents yet another dimension of the same broader debate: how can already-trained and experienced personnel be put to use, rather than allowing that experience to go to waste.
Five-year contracts and uncertainty about the future
It should be noted that seasonal firefighters are hired under five-year contracts and work eight months per year. However, the Federation is already raising the question of what will happen when the current five-year cycle comes to an end.
Among the proposals put forward by representatives of seasonal firefighters is the renewal of their contracts through new five-year terms, so that already-trained personnel with operational experience are not lost. At the same time, they are raising the issue of extending their employment to ten months per year — a proposal that could offer a viable way forward.
The needs don’t stop at forest fires
The demand for longer employment periods is also tied to the broader challenges the Fire Service is now called upon to address. Civil Protection is not only tested during the major forest fires of summer, but also during floods and other extreme weather events throughout the year.
At a time when firefighting forces are being called upon to respond to increasingly demanding conditions, seasonal firefighters are asking for a clear vision regarding their role within the Fire Service. The August 31st demonstration marks the first move in a new cycle of demands, with the recent tragedy of three fallen firefighters adding even greater weight to the debate over strengthening the country’s emergency forces. Because, as every difficult front line proves — when the battle is fought in the field, no one is expendable.
