The volunteers of the French team, Pompiers de L' urgence Internationale PUI, arrived in Athens yesterday in order to deliver to EPOMEA Greece a forest firefighting vehicle.

Both teams, members of the European Union of Voluntary Civil Protection Teams (EVOLSAR), came into contact, and PUI sent a group of volunteers assisting EPOMEA in the catastrophic fires of Evia during the previous days.

Understanding the needs of Greece, PUI decided to assist with the provision of an equipped CCF 4X4 type forest firefighting vehicle to operate in forest fires in Greece.

 The vehicle traveled by road from the city of Limoges, the headquarters of PUI, to Ancona where it sailed by boat to Patras, arriving on Friday 13/8/2021.

PUI was welcomed in Patras by the President of EPOMEA Greece George Roumeliotis and its members, where they accompanied the French volunteers Laurent Gauthier, Jean François Anne, Didier Babin to the offices of the Group.

 There, in a modest ceremony and with the minimum number of volunteers for the observance of the measures for COVID-19, the delivery of the vehicle to EPOMEA Greece took place. 

 The ceremony was honored by the presence of the Mayor of Egaleo, Ioannis Gikas and the lawyer at the Supreme Court and candidate for Member of Parliament in the Western Sector of Athens, Ourania Sagiakou.

The event was opened by the President of EPOMEA Greece Mr. Roumeliotis George who, welcoming the representatives of the French team, thanked the President of PUI, Philippe BESSON for his offer, emphasizing its importance as our country was devastated by the fires that were burning throughout Greece. He personally thanked the French mission consisting of GIACOLETTO Stéphane, BOUSQUET Pierre (doctor), CHAMPAUD Antoine, CONTI Marc, RETHORET François with whom they worked and cooperated flawlessly in the previous days in Evoia and he expressed his desire for the twinning of the two teams and the exchange of technological and practical knowledge between them.

 The Mayor of Egaleo, Ioannis Gikas, expressed their gratitude and the wish for this cooperation to prove to be long-term and sincere. The warm climate between the volunteers of the two rescue teams gives hope for the future of volunteering, with the expectation of relations of rivalry, cooperation and solidarity