Athens, Aug 23 (DPA) Athenians living on the outskirts of the Greek capital battled alongside firefighters to stamp out a large fire burning out of control northeast of the city.

Declaring a state of emergency, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis urged calm, saying 'it is a very difficult battle but the first priority is the protection of people's lives and property'.

The fire broke out early Saturday and quickly spread, fanned by strong, gale-force winds in the area of Grammatiko, about 40 km northeast of the Greek capital.

Within hours, the fire had spread, damaging homes, burning thousands of acres of forest and forcing the evacuation of its residents and nearby children's camps.

By late Saturday, the fire was raging out of control on at least four fronts near the towns of Stamata, Rodopi, Dionysos and Marathona and many feared that without the assistance of water planes and helicopters, fire officials on the ground faced an impossible task.

'I fear that unless the fire is contained during the night we will see nothing left standing by sunrise,' said Spyros Zagoris, the Mayor of Marathonas.

Giannis Kapakis, the head of the fire brigade, said the fire was heading south because of strong winds towards the heavily-populated residential area of Pendelis located east of Athens.

As a precautionary measure, officials began evacuating two hospitals in the area of Pendelis and transferring patients, the majority of them children, to other hospitals around the city.

Fearing casualties and increased damage resembling the fire disaster that struck the country in 2007, the government declared a state of emergency almost immediately as thick black smoke engulfed the Greek capital.

Hundreds of residents, armed with shovels and buckets, worked side by side with firefighters.