MOTHER AND TWO DAUGHTERS ARRESTED OVER FIREFIGHTERS' DEATHS

ATHENS, NOVEMBER 15 /SRNA/ - A mother and her underage daughters have been arrested in connection with a fire at an abandoned building in Zefyri, west of Athens, in which two firefighters have been killed.

The suspects are a 34-year-old woman and her daughters, aged 13 and 16, while police are searching for her 44-year-old husband, Kathimerini reported.

Investigators allege that the family had been dumping ashes from a wood-burning stove in the building's stairwell, which most likely caused the fire yesterday.

Two firefighters, aged 44 and 23, have been killed while responding to the blaze. A third firefighter, aged 43, has been injured.

The cause of the fire and the circumstances surrounding the firefighters' deaths are still under investigation.

Authorities are examining whether they fell on the staircase or became disoriented in the smoke-filled basement after their breathing apparatus ran out of oxygen.