Alarm bells ringing following the latest arson attempt at the New Fortress
fire
19 Jun 2018
/ 09:17
CORFU. Deep concern following the arson attempt at the New Fortress brings the issue of the management of the medieval Fortresses back into the spotlight in order to avoid a repeat of last year΄s incidents.
Mayor Kostas Nikolouzos will talk to those responsible in the government about the need for the site to be cleaned and guarded, given the proven inefficiency (and danger) of the present situation.
The Mayor told Enimerosi that he is ready to demand at least the management of the two Fortresses in Corfu Town. He referred to the decision taken in 2012 which brought the fortresses under the umbrella of the Public Real Estate Company (KED) and their management became the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture - in other words, the Archaeological Service here, which is understaffed and which, for this very reason, announced that that the New Fortress would remain closed to the public following Sunday's incident!
The incident
The local Fire Service has put the incident down to attempted arson following last year's repeated arson attacks. This time it was certain, however, that the fire couldn't have spread due to the weather conditions and the damp ground following the heavy rainfall. The fire broke out at the northern tip of the fortress above the Naval Base (NASKE) building. NASKE personnel contacted the Fire Service, who came immediately and dealt with the situation.
Corfu Municipality released a statement saying that "The Antiquities Inspectorate, who supervise and manage the New Fortress, has decided that following Sunday's fire the New Fortress archaeological site will remain closed for reasons of security and the fact that there is not enough security staff.
Corfu Municipality which - as is known - has requested the Finance Ministry that it be given responsibility for the New Fortress, had been able to provide only one person (from the insufficient personnel available) in order to keep the site open for visitors.
This unfortunate incident leads us to request once again that we be given responsibility for the New Fortress to staff it with security personnel.
At the same time, there are questions to be asked about fire breaking out in such an inaccessible spot and following a day with heavy rainfall - weather conditions thus making it difficult for the fire to spread."
The Mayor told Enimerosi that he is ready to demand at least the management of the two Fortresses in Corfu Town. He referred to the decision taken in 2012 which brought the fortresses under the umbrella of the Public Real Estate Company (KED) and their management became the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture - in other words, the Archaeological Service here, which is understaffed and which, for this very reason, announced that that the New Fortress would remain closed to the public following Sunday's incident!
The incident
The local Fire Service has put the incident down to attempted arson following last year's repeated arson attacks. This time it was certain, however, that the fire couldn't have spread due to the weather conditions and the damp ground following the heavy rainfall. The fire broke out at the northern tip of the fortress above the Naval Base (NASKE) building. NASKE personnel contacted the Fire Service, who came immediately and dealt with the situation.
Corfu Municipality released a statement saying that "The Antiquities Inspectorate, who supervise and manage the New Fortress, has decided that following Sunday's fire the New Fortress archaeological site will remain closed for reasons of security and the fact that there is not enough security staff.
Corfu Municipality which - as is known - has requested the Finance Ministry that it be given responsibility for the New Fortress, had been able to provide only one person (from the insufficient personnel available) in order to keep the site open for visitors.
This unfortunate incident leads us to request once again that we be given responsibility for the New Fortress to staff it with security personnel.
At the same time, there are questions to be asked about fire breaking out in such an inaccessible spot and following a day with heavy rainfall - weather conditions thus making it difficult for the fire to spread."
