Greece’s Minister of State, Akis Skertsos, has paid tribute to the firefighters, pilots, civil protection professionals, and public servants battling the country’s devastating wildfires. In a heartfelt post, he pledged that the greatest honor to those who lost their lives is “to never stop investing in prevention, training, people, and the resources of civil protection.”
The full post by Minister of State Akis Skertsos
“During the recent wildfires, we witnessed public servants, senior fire service officers, and specialized civil protection professionals fighting with every ounce of their strength to save the lives of citizens, protect properties and forests — and ultimately sacrificing their own lives for our safety. Thankfully, we did not mourn the loss of any civilians. But we do mourn the lives of the firefighters and pilots we lost.
We owe our deepest respect and gratitude to these everyday heroes who, with selflessness and courage, put “we” before “I” each and every day. They inspire us and move us profoundly.
A state that cares, that prevents, and that stands on the front lines for the safety of its citizens and the protection of human life — that is the state we want and the state we need.
Only in this way can we continuously reduce the risk of reliving national tragedies, such as the one in Mati, which proved in the most painful way imaginable just how critical the protection of human life truly is.
My sincere condolences to the wider family of the Fire Service and to the families of every firefighter and every aerial vehicle operator we lost last week.
The greatest honor to their memory is to never stop investing in prevention, in training, in people, and in the resources of civil protection. The climate crisis makes every summer harder. Our responsibility is to become better every single year.”
