Greece boosts special firefighting units to cope with its growing heat risk

By DEREK GATOPOULOS
Associated Press

KRYO PIGADI, Greece (AP) — Under pressure to cope with the impact of rising temperatures, Greece’s emergency response planners are shifting tactics this summer. They’ll be relying more heavily on specialized units to fight wildfires. Airborne teams, many with training in other European Union member states and the United States, are tasked with flying into fire-hit zones to try and outflank the advancing flames. Greece is doubling the number of special unit firefighters after the warmest winter on record and with temperatures reaching 86 degrees Fahrenheit in late March.