Toxic fume warning from fire in Athens suburb of Aspropyrgos

“Take refuge in a closed building, smoke dangerous to health” said the 112 message sent by the Climate Crisis Ministry about the fire in the Aspropyrgos area last night.

The nlaze because of the rubber tires burning reached large proportions. 25 firefighters with 10 vehicles rushed to the scene.

Earlier, according to the Police, a break-in took place in this business, with the perpetrators removing a large number of tires. The theft was noticed at around 9pm by the store managers and they notified the police. A short time later the store was engulfed in flames.

The break-in and subsequent fire may be related to the tension and incidents caused by Roma groups protesting police brutality following the serious injury of the 16-year-old to the head by a police bullet.

Public health risks from toxic gases

The head of the Pulmonology Clinic of Evangelismos, Giorgos Boulbasakos, spoke to ERT about the risks to public health from the toxic gases that continue to be released in the region of Western Attica from the burning of tires.

Speaking about the black smoke and the strong smell in the areas of Western Attica, Mr. Boulbasakos emphasized that the health of people who have respiratory or heart problems is greatly worsened by such conditions.

“We recommend that young children and the elderly do not circulate in such an environment that may cause them to have an outbreak of the disease. They should stay at home, not use the air conditioning with re-introduction of air from the outside environment, because we will put all these pollutants inside and they will cause the problem by themselves” advised the pulmonologist.

Firefighters remain in the area as the pyrothermal load developed by the fire in the tire shop was particularly large.