By ELENA BECATOROS and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A heat wave across southern Europe forced authorities in Greece to close the Acropolis Wednesday for several hours and two firefighters died while putting out a fire in the Basilicata region in southern Italy, Italian authorities said.
Italy added Palermo, Sicily, to the list of 13 cities in the country with a severe heat warning. Elderly people in the city of Verona were urged to stay indoors, while sprinklers were set up to cool passersby.
Greece’s Culture Ministry ordered the closure of the Acropolis — the country’s biggest cultural attraction — from midday for five hours.
Tourists hoping to visit the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis queued early in the morning to beat the worst of the heat, while the Red Cross handed chilled bottled water and information fliers to those waiting in line.
“We got it done and got out quick, and now we’re going to some air conditions and some more libation and enjoy the day,” said Toby Dunlap, who was visiting from Pennsylvania and had just toured the Acropolis. “But it’s hot up there, it really is. If you don’t come prepared, you’re going to sweat.”
Meteorologists said the hot air from Africa was forecast to continue through Sunday, with heat wave temperatures expected to peak at 43 degrees C (109 F).
In Albania, the heat led the government to reschedule working hours for civil servants, making it easier for some to work from home. Neighboring North Macedonia struggled with dozens of wildfires that had broken out in the previous 24 hours. One major blaze stretched across nearly 30 kilometers (21 miles). Firefighting aircraft from Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania and Turkey responded to the country’s call for assistance.
In western Turkey, firefighters — aided by more than a dozen water-dropping aircraft — managed to bring a wildfire near the town of Bergama under control several hours after it ignited. The cause of the blaze, which was fanned by strong winds, was not immediately known.
The municipality of Turkey’s largest city Istanbul issued a heat warning on Tuesday, saying temperatures would rise between 3-6 degrees C (37-43 F) above seasonal norms until July 28.
Several Spanish cities, including Granada and Toledo, are bracing for temperatures as high as 44 degrees C (111 F) forecast for later in the week in the country’s hottest spots in the south.
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Barry reported from Milan, Italy. Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Athens, Greece, Nicole Winfield in Rome, Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, North Macedonia, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey and Llazar Semini in Amsterdam contributed to this report.
Steve Strunsky – nj.com
Three Newark firefighters were recovering Wednesday, a day after being injured in a blaze that displaced 51 adults and children, city officials and the Red Cross said.
Firefighters responded to a 12:14 p.m. call Tuesday reporting a fire on all three floors of a brick apartment building on the 200 block of South Orange Avenue, Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé said in a statement Wednesday. The building has a pizzeria and a hair salon on the first floor.
Upon their arrival, they found that the fire had spread to two other buildings on either side of the original location, Fragé said.
Due to the added threat to firefighters posed by temperatures in the 90′s on Tuesday, the department soon issued second and third alarms calling additional personnel to the scene, Fragé said. As it turned out, three firefighters were treated and released at University Hospital in Newark for heat exhaustion, Fragé said.
None of the residents were reported injured. But officials said 17 families, including 35 adults and 16 children, were displaced from apartments in all three buildings.
The Red Cross responded to help the families relocate and provide assistance with food, medical conditions, or other immediate needs, said Sheri Ferreira, a spokesperson for the organization.
“We provided them with emergency financial assistance that they can use for things like temporary lodging,” Ferreira said. “Our case workers will follow up with them in the next day or two to make sure they are using the referrals that we’ve given them for other resources that are available.”
The fire was deemed under control at 3:38 p.m., Fragé said. The origin and cause remained under investigation by the department on Wednesday.
Firefighters from East Orange, Montclair, Orange, Verona, Millburn, Irvington, and Jersey City responded to assist, officials said.
A report by News12 New Jersey quoted one of the residents, Porfirio Peralda, saying he evacuated his young family and warned others after smelling smoke.
“I had two babies,” Peralda told News12. “We decided to walk out of the building and tell the neighbors.”
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Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com
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