In the aftermath of the wildfires which burnt down over 14 per cent of Greece’s largest Dodecanese island, Neos Kosmos speaks to Greek Australians who volunteered in the fire response.
Brisbane resident John Fronis, was holidaying Greece at the time with his family. Both him and his wife hail from Rhodes and had stopped by the island before the fires started.
But seeing the fire ravaging the island, he decided to go back and help.
“I was speaking to Stephen, the night before when the fire had calmed down a little bit. By the morning when we spoke next it had started again. So, as soon as I got off the phone I booked a ticket, packed my bags, said goodbye to my kids and wife and caught a plane back,” Mr Fronis tells Neos Kosmos.
“So, we went to Asklipio and then Vati, Lachania… I think we ended up going to seven or eight villages to assist any way we could.” Added Mr Fronis.
Reflecting on the timeline of how quickly the fires spread, Mr Fronis believes that “it if weren’t for the locals, the whole island would have burnt.”
