Firecracker bans and penalties: Cities are preparing for New Year’s Eve

Rocket and firecracker fans will have to pay close attention this year on New Year’s Eve in many German cities as to where they are allowed to set off fireworks – and where they are not. For fire safety reasons and to protect against injuries, many municipalities want to set up firecracker ban zones, as a survey by the DPA news agency showed. Violations sometimes result in penalties.

Pyrotechnics are banned nationwide in the vicinity of hospitals, children’s and old people’s homes, churches or fire-sensitive buildings such as half-timbered houses. Cities also have the option of closing other areas to firecrackers.

In Munich, for example, it has been forbidden to set off firecrackers within the entire Middle Ring since 2019, said a spokeswoman for the district administration department. The state capital and other Bavarian cities have published maps showing the prohibited zones on their websites.

In Cologne, for the second time, the city is relying on a large zone in the city center where shooting is not allowed. Düsseldorf is also making the old town and parts of the banks of the Rhine a firecracker-free zone again. Other NRW cities such as Dortmund do not have a local ban on firecrackers. We rely on people’s insight, said a spokesman.

Pyrotechnics are banned in large parts of the Lower Saxony capital Hanover. This year, for the first time, the city wants to bring the public order office on board to enforce the firecracker bans. And they rely on the help of restaurants and bars in the prohibited zones. They should be informed in advance and point out the rules to their guests.

In Bremen, among other things, fireworks are not allowed to be set off within 150 meters of the town hall. The building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with extensive painted wooden ceilings and wood carvings. Fires could cause major damage.

In Erfurt, Thuringia, virtually the entire old town is closed to rockets or firecrackers, as the city announced. Many other Thuringian cities, however, declared that they would not designate any special zones for firecracker bans beyond the legal protection zones. Eisenach, for example, also justified this with the high personnel costs associated with the controls.

The survey showed that there should be no new prohibition zones in the larger Saxon cities.

Time and again, people are seriously injured – sometimes even fatally – when dealing with pyrotechnics. At the turn of the year last year, an 18-year-old died after setting off a firecracker in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. According to police, a 22-year-old man died when a banned ball bomb was detonated in Boxberg, Saxony.

Illegal fireworks, which are often smuggled into Germany from abroad, often contain dangerous flash bangs, says Hanspeter Scheibe from the German Explosives Association. Firecrackers approved in Germany, on the other hand, may only contain black powder. While a legal firecracker with two grams of black powder can only cause a bruise, a flash-fire gun with the same amount has the potential to tear off a hand, warns Scheibe.

Violations of the firecracker bans result in penalties – in some cases tens of thousands of euros are due for violations. In Zwickau, Saxony, for example, fines of up to 50,000 euros can be imposed.