By Maj. Georgios Gkanalas
In the summer of 2023, Greece experienced a massive ammunition depot explosion as a result of wildfires. Maj. Georgios Gkanalas of the Hellenic Air Force details the most important stages of the clean-up operation.
Many accidents involving explosives have unfortunately occurred since their invention, in the most cases leading to huge disasters and human tragedies.
Recent wars in Syria, Azerbaijan, Libya, and especially in Ukraine, offer many examples of major ammunition depot disasters, although these disasters were often caused by military action and less by accidental factors.
In the aftermath of the aforementioned and similar events, EOD units are often charged with the huge task of organizing, planning, and executing clean-up operations in conjunction with other military and civilian entities.
Such an event happened in late July 2023, when Greece’s countryside experienced a series of wildfires. In the eastern region of Thessalia, one of those wildfires got out of control and entered into the ammunition depot of a major combat wing of the Hellenic Air Force.
This led to a series of explosions of ammunition in “open storage mode”, seriously affecting neighboring urban and sub-urban areas. Fortunately, the explosions did not result in a single human casualty or even injury despite the several tons of net explosive weight involved. Miraculously, the small church of the Orthodox Holy St. Panteleimon, which stood barely a kilometer away from the hot zone and had been celebrating the same day, was also unharmed.
Immediately after the incident, a huge operation was organized by the Tactical Air Force General HQ to render safe any unexploded ordnance and mitigate hazards for civilian and military personnel. The same day, Hellenic Air Force EOD teams were deployed to the affected area and the next morning they entered the ammunition depot to start initial operations.
Responding to this major accident at the ammunition depot required a highly coordinated operation involving many emergency services, specialized teams, additional military personnel, and the local authorities. Hellenic Air Force EOD conducted a thorough investigation, plan, and implemented immediate response actions, safety protocols, medical support, command and control, public safety and relations, environmental protection, post-incident actions, and lessons learned.
Immediate Response Actions
An evacuation of the affected area was conducted by establishing the border limits of the area and ensuring that all military and especially civilian personnel within the vicinity of the ammunition depot were safely evacuated to a safer area and distance. Furthermore, a setup of an exclusion zone around the danger area was established to prevent unauthorized entry of civilians or any other non-essential personnel.
An assessment of the current situation was conducted by deploying properly trained EOD personnel to ascertain the severity of the explosion and the produced damage, as well as hidden dangers such as UXO, hazardous materials, infrastructure hazards and so on. Additionally, the use of special types of drones – with infrared cameras and specialized software – remote cameras, and satellite images reduced the time and the total human risk during the whole operation. But the most important task was the identification of the type of explosive hazards, the assessment of the probability for further explosions, and the necessity of removing any other ammunition from the affected area.
Emergency services were also notified. In our case, fire brigades and medical services were already there, in addition to police forces and the local civil protection authority services. Hellenic Army Forces were deployed immediately after the incident, in order to succor with other services and to clean up any ammunition remnants outside of the affected area. The Hellenic Air Force EOD is responsible by law for dealing with any kind of UXO and explosive hazard, but only inside the official borders of any Air Force Installation.
Dealing with the Safety Protocols
Fire and explosion containment was also conducted by ensuring that all the required fire and blast suppression equipment and systems were immediately available. In the event of a sudden rekindling of fire or sudden cook-off of a piece of ammunition, all available services were properly notified for immediate action to prevent any further damage to the nearby residential or industrial areas.
Handling hazardous material involved the proper authorities for handling chemical material and agents. In this case, only asbestos and fiberglass material posed the immediate danger to the involved personnel, and these were properly removed by activating the relevant civil protection authority protocols. All personnel involved in the clean-up operation were provided with the appropriate PPE against blast and fragment hazards, as well as hazmat and other potential chemical or radiological agents.
Ensuring Medical Support
Triage and first aid support was made available to assess any injuries, provide life-saving care, and prioritize the treatment of the injuries caused by the fire, the blast, and the inhalation of hot gases.
Possible victims would have been evacuated using any available service (air, sea, land) to quickly transport any severely injured victim to the proper medical installations.
Luckily, none of the above was applied in our case, but we must consider that all medical teams were prepared to deal with any injury caused by blast and fragmentation accidents during the clean-up operations.
Command and Control Preparations
A joint command post was set up away from the ammunition depot and within the established safe area. This set-up helped the coordination between the involved military and civilian authorities, producing more unified and effective actions.
Specific tasks were assigned by dividing the tasks and the areas of responsibility of the Hellenic Air Force EOD Teams, army personnel, firefighters, and medical teams.
Communication between the involved units was critical, so we also established a couple of back-up communication methods in case of a sudden collapse of the main communication network.
Public Safety and Relations
Public notifications were issued through the local civil service authority by using any available means, for example verbal and written posts, social media, radio, and TV announcements highlighting the current situation, further dangers and restrictions, as well as the available evacuation routes and any other safety measures.
Media management was dealt by the assignment of a dedicated public relations officer. Their task was the timely and accurate briefing of the public to avoid any spreading of rumors and to prevent public panic.
Environmental Protection
An environmental assessment of the incident was conducted due to the possibility of any chemical contamination. The appropriate state environmental protection agencies were notified to sample and check the nearby air, soil, and water sources. Any hazardous and toxic materials found in the affected area were contained and removed by the authorized agencies.
Post Incident Actions and Lessons Learned
An official investigation board was established to determine the true cause of the incident and to collect any data and evidence to prevent future similar incidents.
A security board was also established after the incident to secure the ammunition depot once the clean-up operation had finished, and to determine if the cause of the incident was accidental, by negligence, or due to malicious acts such as terrorism or sabotage.
Repairing damaged facilities was immediately started after the end of the clean-up operation. This was achieved by assessing the damaged structures and also by issuing plans for repairs and rebuilding as well as any potential exclusion of certain contaminated areas.
The Hellenic Air Force provided psychological and counseling support to any affected military and civilian personnel, and issued post-incident announcements to the public. Training programs were established after the incident to prevent any future re-occurrence and to train personnel in the event of a possible disaster.
After the regroup of the involved teams and services, a thorough debriefing process took place, including an action review of all the involved personnel, to identify what worked smoothly and what did not.
Furthermore, the need to modify existing emergency response protocols was raised, namely by incorporating what we learned as well as recognizing the need to modify the safety procedures for ammunition depots.
Conclusion
It is always possible that ammunition depot disasters may occur due to unintentional or intentional factors, whether it be caused by acts of war, terrorism, or climate change.
Effective and updated response plans, conducting frequent drills, and providing specialized training for such accidents can greatly minimize the risks and damage associated with ammunition depot incidents.
The Hellenic Air Force EOD was involved in mitigating the effects of a once-in-a-lifetime incident, and as a result gained tremendous experience. At the same time our EOD technicians were challenged to apply themselves and demonstrate their highly technical skills. Personally, as a team leader I’m proud of my EOD technicians and I declare that they are always ready to provide their public-spirited skills to protect military and civilian personnel.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Greek Government.
Major Georgios Gkanalas is an EOD, IEDD, and CBRNE subject matter expert in the Hellenic Air Force.
