Major overhaul of civil protection authority

The office of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday announced new chiefs of the Greek Police and the Fire Service following widespread criticism of the response to the deadly wildfires in Attica last month.

Greece's new fire service chief is Vasileios Matthaipoulos while the new police chief is Aristides Antrikopoulos, the PM's office announced following a session of KYSEA, the country’s decision-making body on defense issues. Both men are ranked lieutenant general and currently deputies in their respective forces.

Greece’s Interior Minister Panos Skourletis announced on Saturday that the government plans to radically change the civil protection authority in the hope of avoiding such tragedies in the future.

Skourletis made the statement during a handover ceremony where he assumed this new portfolio following the resignation of Nikos Toskas on Friday.

"The government must examine not only the chronic sicknesses and the damaged infrastructure as part of a deep assessment. The laws that are voted on must be applied. We need to see mistakes that have taken place over time. The radical redesigning of the civil protection authority will be announced soon, which is necessary not just because of the tragic losses but also due to climate change. The justice system is doing its job and obviously, all the state services will help in this direction," said Skourletis.