Large fire in Nea Ionia: flames engulf apartment building from ground-floor café, residents evacuated

Panic in the early hours of Monday morning in Nea Ionia, Athens, where a large fire engulfed a three-story apartment building, as Newsit reports. The flames broke out around 4:25 a.m. in a café (shisha bar) on the ground floor of the building, on Kastamonis street, and quickly spread to the first, second and third floors.

One side of the building, which houses around 15 apartments, was completely destroyed, according to Newsit. Eighteen firefighters with five vehicles arrived at the scene, including a special aerial-ladder vehicle. Residents of the upper floors were evacuated — some escaped via the terrace after the flames and smoke blocked their way. “We couldn’t breathe. If we hadn’t gone out onto the terrace, I don’t know how we would have survived,” a resident told Newsit.

According to eyewitnesses cited by ProtoThema, an explosion was heard from the ground floor before the fire broke out. The fire service is investigating the cause, with a gas canister or deliberate arson among the leads. Checks continue to rule out the possibility of people trapped inside.

The café where the fire started is no stranger to the police: in February 2023 a shooting took place there, Newsit writes, while ProtoThema reports that the victim was a 37-year-old Albanian, shot by a fellow countryman after a dispute.