A series of 10 paper matchboxes of 1980 with the theme: “Fire Brigade, 50 years in the fight against fire”.
This is a topical issue since dozens of fires are starting at many areas throughout Greece.
The Fire Brigade was legally established as an independent organization in 1930 by law 4661/1930 and in 1980, when these matchboxes were released, it completed 50 years of operation.
It has been proven in recent years that fire protection is not a priority of the state and governments. In addition, climate change with extreme weather events like heat waves multiplies the negative effects of the criminal absence of fire protection.
The current situation in the Fire Brigade proves the truth of the matter. The Fire Brigade is currently short of at least 4,000 permanent firefighters, features an aging fleet and elderly manpower. Firefighters are called in to fight the blaze with an aging fleet of vehicles, aircrafts, and personnel.
This series of matchboxes, which have representations of the activities of the Fire Service on their front, is quite rare. It was released in a circulation of 5 million pieces when other series of the Greek monopoly were released in a circulation of 200 million.