Under different circumstances, the two friends would have been preparing for their summer holidays. They had planned a motorcycle trip through Crete, but the fire came first. It broke out on the night of August 12, 2025, in the Sychaina (also spelled Sichena) area of Patra, and quickly spread out of control. By the following day, the flames were threatening additional neighborhoods, and the homes of their relatives and friends were at risk.
Loukianos Kostopoulos and Ionas Papanikolaou rushed to help. They rode toward the fire front on an orange KTM motorcycle, distributed water to other volunteers, and rescued trapped pets. Soon after, however, they were arrested on suspicion of arson.
‘I no longer feel safe’
The two young men were held in pretrial detention for one month, despite two eyewitness accounts and successive reports from the expert authority – the fire service’s arson crimes division, or DAEE – indicating they bore no responsibility.
The then-21-year-old Kostopoulos was taken to Avlona Youth Prison, while the 25-year-old Papanikolaou was sent to Korydallos Prison in Athens. Ten months later, their case remains open. The investigation has recently been completed, and the prosecutor will decide whether they will be brought to trial.
