Mariusz Kamiński announced the initiative via Twitter on Tuesday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR’s news agency reported.
The interior minister wrote: “Greece has again been hit by enormous fires. We are coming to the rescue. In coordination with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, I have asked the State Fire Service chief, Andrzej Bartkowiak, to prepare our firefighters for a mission, so that they can help put out fires in southern Europe, just like two years ago.”
Meanwhile, Bartkowiak said Greece had asked Poland for assistance in fighting forest fires using vehicles and that fire service units from the western Polish city of Poznań and the southern city of Kraków were preparing to join the fire fighting effort in the southern European country.
Greece has been hit by wildfires to the south and west of the capital Athens, the PAP news agency reported.
Residents were evacuated from the seaside towns of Lagonisi, Saronida and Anavyssos, some 15 kilometres to the south of Athens, according to officials.
The blazes are being further fanned by strong winds, and tore through 12 kilometres of land in just two hours, the PAP news agency reported, citing Greek media.
Since Tuesday morning, eastern Greece, Athens, parts of the Peloponnese and the islands on the Aegean Sea have been on high fire alert, according to officials.
There are two separate wildfires, the PAP news agency reported.
One is raging in the Saronida area south of Athens, where over 200 firefighters, with 68 vehicles, seven aircraft and six helicopters are battling to contain the blaze, according to officials.
Meanwhile, a fire also broke out near the seaside resort of Loutraki, some 80 kilometres to the west of Athens, where 20 fire service units were in action, the PAP news agency reported.
A spokesman for Greece’s fire service said on Tuesday that residential buildings had burnt down both in Saronida and Loutraki, adding that the full extent of the damage could only be assessed after the blazes had been extinguished.
Last week, Greece was hit with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, and similar weather was predicted for this week, according to news outlets.
The heat had dried the mountain bushes and pine forests, facilitating the quick spread of the fire, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP
Click on the audio player above to listen to a report by Radio Poland's Ada Janiszewska.
