Fires and firefighters

Firefighting Helicopters Collide Over Greek Wildfire, 2 Dead

Were the deaths an act of heroic sacrifice or the deadly consequence of outsourcing emergency infrastructure?

Published 2 hours ago

Firefighting Helicopters Collide Over Greek Wildfire, 2 Dead

Story

Above: Volunteers battle a wildfire burning near Porto Germeno, Greece, on Aug. 2. Image credit: Costas Baltas/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

Four crew members flew into deadly conditions because the fire left no other choice — that's the definition of sacrifice. Greece's prime minister had already warned that winds over 45 mph made flight unsafe, yet these men went up anyway to protect hundreds of homes. That kind of courage demands recognition of the fact that firefighters routinely risk everything so others lose nothing.

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Narrative B

Greece has leased its entire heavy-lift firefighting fleet from foreign contractors for seven straight summers, and the people dying in those cockpits are the hired crews flying rented machines. A Danish pilot and a Greek officer are dead after two Bell 214s clipped rotors and one exploded midair. Outsourcing critical emergency infrastructure is a policy failure with a body count.

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