Greece Arrests 281 for Fire Offences This Year
Greek authorities have arrested 281 people for fire-related offenses this year, with 252 cases involving negligence and only 29 suspected arson, while aging infrastructure caused 75 percent of burned land.
Yiannis Artopios, deputy spokesman for the country’s fire service, confirmed on August 12 that 252 arrests involved fires caused by negligent behaviour, while only 29 cases involved suspected arson. He addressed the nation as Greece remained on high alert for additional wildfires.
The arrest figures represent a decline compared to the two preceding years. During the January to August period in 2024, fire officials recorded 360 fire-related arrests, with 12 individuals placed in pre-trial detention. The corresponding numbers for the same timeframe in 2025 stood at 315 arrests and nine remands in custody. The fire service has also levied hundreds of administrative fines each fire season.
Legislative changes enacted in 2024 strengthened penalties for those convicted of forest arson. The penal code overhaul increased maximum prison sentences from 15 years to 20 years and introduced fines reaching up to €200,000, with courts gaining the authority to order asset confiscation. Critically, fires started through negligent actions can now be prosecuted as felonies instead of misdemeanours.
Infrastructure Failures Drive Worst Damage
While enforcement efforts have intensified, the summer’s most catastrophic fire damage has been traced to ageing infrastructure rather than arsonists. As Brussels Signal reports, Greece’s deteriorating power grid accounts for 75 per cent of the land burned across the country this year.
The summer’s most destructive blaze erupted on July 31 near Agios Vasileios in Boeotia, central Greece. Investigators determined that sparks from a privately-owned power line carrying electricity from a five-turbine wind farm to the national grid ignited the fire.
Propelled by wind gusts reaching 130 kilometres per hour, the inferno crossed Mount Kithairon into western Attica, consuming approximately 14,400 hectares of pine forest, scrubland and agricultural land before firefighters brought it under control on August 5.
Roughly 200 homes sustained damage or were completely destroyed in Porto Germeno, a coastal settlement northwest of Athens. Two aircrew members lost their lives on August 2 when their firefighting helicopters collided over the active fire zone.
Mayor Faces Criminal Charges
Ioannis Apostolou, the mayor of Stylida whose construction company built the overhead power line, was remanded in custody on August 7. He faces four felony counts including forest arson with possible intent.
In northern Greece, police in Thessaloniki arrested a 59-year-old man on August 12 for suspected involvement in five separate fires over a two-week span. He was scheduled to appear before a prosecutor later that day, state broadcaster ERT reported.
A 33-year-old man was detained on August 11 in the Athens region after lighting a portable barbecue in a wooded area. Authorities fined him €3,000.
With information from Brussels Signal
