Zephyri Fire: Three Arrests – 44-Year-Old Man Sought in Deaths of Two Firefighters
A 34-year-old woman and her two underage daughters have been arrested in connection with the fire that cost the lives of two firefighters. Her husband is being sought by authorities.
Arrests Made in Fatal Zephyri Fire – Video Reveals Basement
The authorities have made three arrests as part of the flagrant offence proceedings into the fire at an abandoned building in Zephyri, where two firefighters lost their lives. According to Ethnos, these consist of a 34-year-old woman and her two underage daughters, aged 13 and 16. The woman's 44-year-old husband is still being sought by the authorities.
The investigation of the case has been taken over by the Investigative Unit for Combating Arson Crimes in Athens, in cooperation with specialised personnel from the Directorate for Combating Arson Crimes (ΔΑΕΕ). New video footage, recorded after the fire, shows the interior of the building and the basement where the two men were found.
Findings from the On-Site Inspection and the Role of the Wood Stove
During the on-site inspection of the building, which is officially described as abandoned, rubbish, plastics and other materials were found. The findings were examined by investigators with the aim of determining the mechanism of ignition and spread of the fire. Investigators from the Directorate for Combating Arson Crimes are examining two main scenarios for the conditions of the tragedy.
According to the preliminary investigative material collected so far, the 34-year-old woman, her husband and their two daughters are alleged to have deposited combustion residue from a wood stove in the stairwell, which they used in the ground-floor space where they lived. The authorities report that the evidence collected so far causally links the depositing of these residues to the outbreak of the fire.
Following the assessment of the evidence, the woman and the two minors were brought in with the assistance of the Zephyri Security Department of the Hellenic Police and were subsequently arrested. The preliminary investigation remains ongoing by the competent Investigative Unit, in cooperation with the Directorate for Combating Arson Crimes, in order to establish the full circumstances and causes of the tragedy.
Testimonies Regarding Intervention Conditions in the Basement
Konstantinos Papantonis, the president of the Panhellenic Association of Firefighters, speaking to the Orange Press Agency, relayed descriptions from colleagues of a winding staircase, rubbish and fire in the basement area. According to the same information, the two firefighters fell into a void at the location of the staircase. Papantonis clarified, however, that he does not know to what extent this particular description accurately reflects what occurred.
According to the same testimony, the space was particularly confined and the fire prevented the firefighters from exiting the basement. Papantonis also noted that although the building was uninhabited, the 10th Fire Station had responded there dozens of times. He called for the danger posed by repeated fires to be addressed, citing the possibility of demolishing the building.
In his statements, the association's representative attributed the frequent fires to actions by Roma, without presenting evidence causally linked to this particular fire. He also referred to similar problems in Vlychós, Asprópyrgos and Mégara, emphasising that the protection of buildings cannot come at the cost of human lives.
Complaints Regarding Shortfalls in the Fire Service
Papantonis characterised this year as one of the worst for the service and complained of shortages in personnel, vehicles and clothing. He argued that these problems have been raised repeatedly to the Prime Minister, and criticised the political leadership for the priority it gives, in his view, to administrative crises and vehicle inauguration ceremonies rather than to the actual needs of firefighters.
Source: Ethnos