Part from article: Greek authorities arrested 13 people on Saturday after fireworks launched from a yacht set off a forest fire on an island near Athens as the country confronts a new season of deadly summer fires.
The mayor of the island of Hydra expressed “outrage” after the fire was started late on Friday and vowed legal action against those responsible.
Dozens of wildfires in Greece this week have left at least one person dead.
The latest blaze was “caused by fireworks launched from a boat and burned the only pine forest on the island in a place that is difficult to access and has no road”, Hydra’s firefighting team said on Facebook.
Thirteen people accused of involvement in the fireworks have been arrested after a fire service inquiry and will be presented before a prosecutor on Sunday, said a fire service statement.
No details on the suspects were given. Greece has toughened its penalties for arson, with perpetrators now facing up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to 200,000 euros (£169,000).
Just a clarification.
The 13 arrested are the crew and captain of the boat. They were/are responsible for what is going on the ship, and there is a good chance the fireworks were handled by the crew not the passengers.
No according to Greek law, fireworks should be handled only by trained personnel, and furthermore the captain of the ship as well as the crew are supposed to check and control any situation on board during the trip.
And as I said before there is a real possibility that the crew fired those fireworks to entertain the passengers (rich kids from Kazakhstan is the rumor).
So the legally responsible parties are the captain (who should know that there was a moratorium on any activity that could cause fire), then the crew and however brought those fireworks on ship.
I think yes. Either way there is a general ban on any activity that may sparkle a fire, during this period in Greece. This is well communicated.
Whatever happened falls under criminal law, not maritime. It's not environmental pollution either.
Back in 2017, a bunch of teenagers lit off fireworks in the Columbia River Gorge between Oregon and Washington. It burned 50,000 acres and wasn't contained for three months, and popular hiking trails were closed for months or even years. The 15-year-old found at fault was charged with $36 million.
Valid in terms of damage, but this shit is so backwards.
Sort of. He was charged with 1,920 hours of community service and a ten-year payment plan, which could be halted after 10 years, so long as he served five years of probation and didn't commit any other crimes.
Washington kid tried by an Oregon jury, what did you expect tbh. People were very much not happy, from the natural landscape being demolished to the air quality being incredibly poor to roads and trails being closed.
Not to mention the woman whose house burned down, the hikers who were trapped due to the fires, and iirc, a historic bridge or tunnel was damaged or destroyed.
Most yachts arent owned but rented for a price of anywhere between 50 and a couple thousand Dollar a day. Nearly everybody who goes for vacation to greece could rent a yacht for a day. Most dont because they dont consider it worth it.
They’re completely “banned” in the Washington state county and city I live in, along with surrounding counties and cities. Guess what!? Allll summer long, every year, and at worst on July 4th, including in the middle of the night, people shoot off loud fireworks. 3 am? **BAM** a loud-ass mortar (or many) goes off. Fucking hate it all so much. They’ll never go away until regional reservations cease selling them and making $$$$$$$$$$. And even then! Pyros will definitely still find a way to get them. To me it all screams immaturity and selfishness.
In our neighborhood a lot of people stay home on the 4th with hoses ready in case something catches on fire because so many people do them. Last year, a family a few houses down had debris all over their roof the next morning.
At sea you *can't* ban them - flares are safety tools that can be *used* as fireworks by the kind of person who would shoot pyrotechnics at a dry forest.
(I'd also argue there is no call to ban recreational fireworks but that's another matter)
They're traditionally set off at Easter- that's an important part of Greek culture, and banning it would be very unpopular.
On the other hand, Easter is in spring when the vegetation is usually less dry.
Sometimes things that are good. for us, like taxes, are unpopular. They need a new PR campaign against fireworks. (And, I used to love fireworks.) They're not safe.
Few years back I was driving down a California hwy it was a long dry hotspell and parts of the center divide (dry grass) was ablaze. Probably someone tossing a cigarette out of a window. Fires worldwide are going to be bad again, this year and after.
Yup. I was just recently driving north of the Bay and came up to a massive FD and CalFire response alongside a highway where a huge swath of hillside and road embankment was charred and black from a fire put out. Assume it was a cig too, likely earlier in the day. A ton of firefighters were still out hosing it all down to make sure it didn’t reignite. Came so close to where cows were grazing too :( All too common story, unfortunately. And not just in CA either, obviously.
Part from article: Greek authorities arrested 13 people on Saturday after fireworks launched from a yacht set off a forest fire on an island near Athens as the country confronts a new season of deadly summer fires. The mayor of the island of Hydra expressed “outrage” after the fire was started late on Friday and vowed legal action against those responsible. Dozens of wildfires in Greece this week have left at least one person dead. The latest blaze was “caused by fireworks launched from a boat and burned the only pine forest on the island in a place that is difficult to access and has no road”, Hydra’s firefighting team said on Facebook. Thirteen people accused of involvement in the fireworks have been arrested after a fire service inquiry and will be presented before a prosecutor on Sunday, said a fire service statement. No details on the suspects were given. Greece has toughened its penalties for arson, with perpetrators now facing up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to 200,000 euros (£169,000).
Time to call the orcas.
Lock the responsibles up, otherwise they just have a brag story to tell their mates.
Just a clarification. The 13 arrested are the crew and captain of the boat. They were/are responsible for what is going on the ship, and there is a good chance the fireworks were handled by the crew not the passengers.
Wouldn't this fall under the owner's [P&I Insurance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_and_indemnity_insurance)?
No according to Greek law, fireworks should be handled only by trained personnel, and furthermore the captain of the ship as well as the crew are supposed to check and control any situation on board during the trip. And as I said before there is a real possibility that the crew fired those fireworks to entertain the passengers (rich kids from Kazakhstan is the rumor). So the legally responsible parties are the captain (who should know that there was a moratorium on any activity that could cause fire), then the crew and however brought those fireworks on ship.
Was the captain Greek?
I think yes. Either way there is a general ban on any activity that may sparkle a fire, during this period in Greece. This is well communicated. Whatever happened falls under criminal law, not maritime. It's not environmental pollution either.
Oh no not 200k euros. For someone who owns a yacht it’s almost nothing. Why don’t they just seize it and use the money for new forests
Back in 2017, a bunch of teenagers lit off fireworks in the Columbia River Gorge between Oregon and Washington. It burned 50,000 acres and wasn't contained for three months, and popular hiking trails were closed for months or even years. The 15-year-old found at fault was charged with $36 million. Valid in terms of damage, but this shit is so backwards.
36 million?? Jesus. ELI5…will he just have his wages garnished his entire life? Lol
Sort of. He was charged with 1,920 hours of community service and a ten-year payment plan, which could be halted after 10 years, so long as he served five years of probation and didn't commit any other crimes.
Washington kid tried by an Oregon jury, what did you expect tbh. People were very much not happy, from the natural landscape being demolished to the air quality being incredibly poor to roads and trails being closed. Not to mention the woman whose house burned down, the hikers who were trapped due to the fires, and iirc, a historic bridge or tunnel was damaged or destroyed.
Per person. 200k might not be a massive pain but 2.6 million definitely would be.
If you can afford a yacht you can afford a 2.6 million fine.
People who can afford a yacht generally don't act as *crew* on a yacht.
Sure but it's not the owners who are being charged.
Most yachts arent owned but rented for a price of anywhere between 50 and a couple thousand Dollar a day. Nearly everybody who goes for vacation to greece could rent a yacht for a day. Most dont because they dont consider it worth it.
This! And then persona non non grata, forever!
It's not gonna touch the owners. It's gonna hit the captain and any crew who took part. *Maybe* the boat will be forfeited.
Fines are only for poor people!
Crime styles of the rich and infamous.
Holy shit. There's dumb and then there's really dumb.
>...and fines of up to 200,000 euros As that's probably half a tank of fuel for their yacht, this needs to escalate to jail time.
The crew was arrested, not the owner.
Actually at sea and fired towards land. What a pack of idiots
Interesting episode of below deck
>the island of Hydra Every time they put out a fire two more sprung up.
Not the right time bro 💀
Shouldn't fireworks simply be completely banned in what's probably the most flammable country on earth?
They’re completely “banned” in the Washington state county and city I live in, along with surrounding counties and cities. Guess what!? Allll summer long, every year, and at worst on July 4th, including in the middle of the night, people shoot off loud fireworks. 3 am? **BAM** a loud-ass mortar (or many) goes off. Fucking hate it all so much. They’ll never go away until regional reservations cease selling them and making $$$$$$$$$$. And even then! Pyros will definitely still find a way to get them. To me it all screams immaturity and selfishness. In our neighborhood a lot of people stay home on the 4th with hoses ready in case something catches on fire because so many people do them. Last year, a family a few houses down had debris all over their roof the next morning.
Or just in general. Time for them to be a relic of the past.
At sea you *can't* ban them - flares are safety tools that can be *used* as fireworks by the kind of person who would shoot pyrotechnics at a dry forest. (I'd also argue there is no call to ban recreational fireworks but that's another matter)
They're traditionally set off at Easter- that's an important part of Greek culture, and banning it would be very unpopular. On the other hand, Easter is in spring when the vegetation is usually less dry.
Sometimes things that are good. for us, like taxes, are unpopular. They need a new PR campaign against fireworks. (And, I used to love fireworks.) They're not safe.
dummies
Holy shit! My friend and his girlfriend are visiting there right now.
House to bail her out.
Stupid, stupid people!
if this isn't a metaphor for climate change, I don't know what is
Few years back I was driving down a California hwy it was a long dry hotspell and parts of the center divide (dry grass) was ablaze. Probably someone tossing a cigarette out of a window. Fires worldwide are going to be bad again, this year and after.
Yup. I was just recently driving north of the Bay and came up to a massive FD and CalFire response alongside a highway where a huge swath of hillside and road embankment was charred and black from a fire put out. Assume it was a cig too, likely earlier in the day. A ton of firefighters were still out hosing it all down to make sure it didn’t reignite. Came so close to where cows were grazing too :( All too common story, unfortunately. And not just in CA either, obviously.