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The Sale of rockets and firecrackers for New Year’s Eve started opening the store on Monday morning. Online shops are also allowed to deliver pre-ordered firecrackers on the last three working days of the year. The Association of the Pyrotechnic Industry (VPI) expects 10 to 15 percent more goods in stores compared to the previous year. Last year, the industry reported sales of 197 million euros.
In the first few hours of sales there was a rush on shops in some places. In Meppen, Lower Saxony, near the Dutch border, a long queue formed despite the cold in front of a market that opened at midnight. In Bremerhaven too, many people were already waiting at night in front of a shop that was starting its sales in the morning. A dealer in Hamburg-Harburg told the dpa news agency: “We had a queue of 100 to 130 people at 5:30 a.m. and that’s not stopping and is actually increasing at the moment.”
Several organizations are calling for a ban on firecrackers
The Berlin fire department, however, called for the sale of fireworks to be restricted in the future. “We welcome any kind of regulation,” said fire department spokesman Vinzenz Kasch on rbb24 Inforadio. “We recommend starting with sales, because the problem is the irresponsible use of New Year’s Eve fireworks.”
Also Medical representativespolice officers, the German Children’s Fund, environmental and animal rights activists and other organizations are calling for a general ban on the use of Firecrackers and rockets. Among other things, they point out the risk of injury and the strain on hospitals. The Protestant aid organization Bread for the World called for its campaign, which has existed for more than 40 years Bread instead of firecrackers on.
The Federal Association for Pyrotechnics and Artistic Fireworks, however, defended New Year’s Eve fireworks and spoke of a “deep-rooted custom”. The high demand for fireworks is an expression of a longing for community and shared rituals, said the association’s managing director, Felix Martens.
Last year, 36 apartments in the Schöneberg district of Berlin became uninhabitable after two fireworks explosions. Across the country, several young men died from New Year’s Eve rockets. The deaths were caused in particular by so-called ball bombs and other illegal firecrackers that have significantly more explosive power than the products offered in stores. The fireworks association is therefore calling for a ban instead tougher action against illegal missiles.
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